Enfield and Havering residents will soon be strolling through new woodlands, after the Mayor of London promised more than £1 million for tree planting in the boroughs.

The new green spaces will total 84 hectares – equivalent to 3,000 tennis courts or 55,000 parking spaces – and will open up more Green Belt land to the public.

Amid coronavirus restrictions, parks and green spaces have been more important than ever for Londoners, as one in five households don’t have a garden.

Google location data shows park visits have spiked during lockdown, with crowded green spaces a regular feature on the hottest days of lockdown.

Protected Green Belt land makes up almost a quarter of London, but much is inaccessible private land – including golf courses, horse paddocks and vacant ground.

Now sixty acres of Enfield Chase will be replanted with trees at a cost of almost £750,000, and the Mayor will fund improvements to three kilometres of footpaths and cycle tracks.

In Havering, almost £500,000 will pay for a 24 hectare wildlife corridor extending Hainault forest to Hainault Country Park.

Almost 140,000 trees will be planted during the two projects, starting in November – and more than 600 volunteers are expected to take part.

It comes a year after London became the world’s first National Park City – and the Mayor said he is proud of his record on green spaces.

“Our parks and green spaces are a keystone of the capital,” he said.

“More than ever, London’s green spaces are not only vital to people’s mental and physical well-being, but also to reducing inequality across the city.”

Mr Khan said new projects show how London can “lead the way kickstarting a green recovery” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

City Hall cash has planted almost 290,000 trees across London in the last four years – but in the run up to the Mayoral election in 2016 Mr Khan promised to plant two million in his first term.

The pledge wasn’t in his manifesto, but was publicised ahead of the vote – and City Hall Conservatives have attacked the Mayor for achieving just 14 per cent of that target.

Conservative Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey accused the Mayor of “backtracking” on his promise.

“This is yet another example of PR man Khan putting press releases before policy, and Londoners won’t forget yet another marketing exercise gone wrong,” Mr Bailey said.