Discover our vision for the future of Milton Keynes' green spaces
Our new ‘Milton Keynes’ Inspirational Landscapes: Now and Forever’ document sets out The Parks Trust's vision for green infrastructure in Milton Keynes.
Over the last few years, we have been working closely with Milton Keynes Council and various housing developers across the city on the design, development and delivery of new green infrastructure and its adoption by The Parks Trust. This green infrastructure includes parklands, spaces for recreation and play, areas for biodiversity, habitats and wildlife corridors, and surface water attenuation and drainage features. It is through this work that it became apparent to us, that we should be setting out our own vision for the future development of an extended green space network for the city.
As Milton Keynes expands, The Parks Trust wants to ensure all new areas of the city benefit from the same extent and quality of green space as is found in the established areas. Our aim is to ensure that the expanded city will continue to:
- provide the space and opportunity for people to enjoy outdoor recreation
- provide a home for wildlife, protecting habitats and increasing biodiversity
- conserve and enhance heritage assets
- manage flood risk and prevent flooding
Thurs, we have created an advocacy document for a landscape-led approach to the development and growth of Milton Keynes. This document has been created to support Milton Keynes Council’s MK2050 strategy and to add a crucial layer to it. It is also intended to support the existing policies of Plan:MK and help shape the policies of the next plan for Milton Keynes.
The document is also for developers, to provide sound principles to guide and shape their plans and to assist in our discussions and conversations with them. It will also guide planners and landscape architects developing plans and designs for the growth of Milton Keynes, as well as supporting other stakeholders in the development process to demonstrate The Parks Trust’s thinking and ambition.
But perhaps most importantly, this document is for the general public. We hope that it is accessible, thought-provoking and appealing, and is something the public can all get behind and champion.
The document itself is a proposition for the future development of Milton Keynes’ landscapes based upon five key principles:
- The need for a new green infrastructure strategy for Milton Keynes: The designation, design and delivery of landscape and green infrastructure should be led by and in accordance with a city-wide strategy.
- Landscape-led planning: Landscape is at the heart of shaping new and great places.
- Joining up open spaces: As Milton Keynes grows, we must ensure the green spaces and water bodies continue as a single, interconnected strategic network across the city.
- Learn from the past: The green infrastructure network in Milton Keynes was planned and designed according to sound principles that have proven to be effective as the city has matured.
- Ensuring future stewardship: Our parklands, open spaces, green infrastructure and water bodies must be cared for and maintained in perpetuity.
We want to promote this document and the principles it contains and have people use this tool to aid and support our role in the growth of Milton Keynes and its landscapes. A copy can be downloaded from the website or a printed version is available upon request from info@theparkstrust.com.
