The Parks Trust Shortlisted for Landscape Institute Award
We're delighted that our Linear Park Management was shortlisted for the Landscape Institute Award for Landscape and Parks Management for the first time!
What are the awards?
In July 2022, we submitted an application to the Landscape Institute Awards 2022 under the Open Category, which is open to any individual, organisation, government, university or group. In this category, we submitted our Linear Parks Management Plan for the Landscape and Parks Management Award, which celebrates excellence in the management of existing landscapes, including parks. Our submitted management plan demonstrates our strategy for caring for over 6,000 acres of parks and green spaces in Milton Keynes, which so many people enjoy. The judges marked against set criteria, including sustainability, professionalism and value.
What is the Linear Parks Management Plan?
Our Management Plan helps us to care for and maintain the Linear Parks across Milton Keynes. The plan is updated at least annually and whenever there is a significant change to the document. It is consistent across the whole city, which means you can find high-quality green space wherever you are. We do not have one or two manicured city parks, maintained at the expense of other parks elsewhere. Rather, we view the Linear Parks as one and manage them as such.
Our approach has been endorsed by the organisers of the Green Flag Award, who accept a single entry for the Linear Parks, despite them consisting of 50+ individual, but interconnected parks. To date, we are the only organisation to be awarded a Green Flag for this whole-city approach. We were recently awarded a Green Flag Award for the Linear Parks for 2022-23 and a Green Flag Heritage Award for Great Linford Manor Park.
The Awards
Although we didn't win the award on this occasion, we are very pleased to be recognised for are landscape management on the national stage!