New parks for a growing city
New parks for a growing city
Milton Keynes is continuing to grow, with new housing developments in the undeveloped grid squares, such as Tattenhoe Park and Oakgrove, and in new expansion areas to the east and west of the city.
The plans for these new developments include providing and laying out new parks and green spaces. We have been working with the various developers, Milton Keynes Council, the Homes and Communities Agency and other agencies to help plan these new parks and to bring as many of them as possible into the care of The Parks Trust to manage in perpetuity.
Some of the main developments include:
Western Expansion Area
The Western Expansion Area extends south from Stony Stratford and west of the V4, Watling Street, Crownhill and Kiln Farm. It is a planned development of houses, community facilities and commercial buildings covering an area of 352 hectares (870 acres). It will include 6,530 dwellings and an estimated population of 15,000 when completed. The new parks will cover a total of around 68 hectares (169 acres) in a number of sites across the development and will include 11 children’s play areas and two areas with pitches for sports (football and cricket). There will also be around 21 hectares (52 acres) of other green space including areas of tree planting, grasslands, ponds to manage surface water and approximately 15km (9 miles) of existing hedgerows retained as 'green corridors'.
Eastern Expansion Area
Including Broughton Gate, Brooklands and Magna Park, the Eastern Expansion area extends from Broughton in the north to the A421 road in the south. It’s a mixed development covering a total of 285 hectares (704 acres). Broughton Gate and Brooklands are the residential developments with 4,100 dwellings planned and an estimated population of 9,400 people. Magna Park is a new industrial/commercial park between Brooklands and the A421. The new parks will cover 50 hectares (124 acres) and will include 10 play areas and an area of pitches for sport (football and cricket). The development also includes an enlargement of the Broughton Brook Linear Park extending to around 22 hectares (54 acres) and about 9.4 hectares (23 acres) of other landscaping.
Tattenhoe Park
Tattenhoe Park and Kingsmead South are residential developments in adjoining areas located between the current housing development at Kingsmead and Snelshall West Industrial Estate.
Tattenhoe Park is a planned development of 59 hectares (146 acres) with 1,310 dwellings and an estimated population of 3,000. Kingsmead South covers 18 hectares (44 acres) and will have 450 dwellings and an estimated population of 1,030. The public open space provision will cover 14 hectares (35 acres) and include: 2 local parks ; 1 district park; 6 play areas; 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) of playing fields (football & cricket). Other green space areas will include a 4.6 hectare (11.4 acres) extension to the existing Tattenhoe Valley Linear Park.
Maintaining the vision
Approximately the same proportion of green space (20%) as in the existing city area will be dedicated to green space in the expansion areas.
The Parks Trust is working with a wide range of bodies and stakeholders, including the Homes and Communities Agency, Milton Keynes Council and developers to ensure the new parks are delivered in line with the Trust's vision of 'inspirational parks that are valued by local people' and created to the same high standards of its existing parkland.
In most cases the new parks will be established first by the developers and then transferred after an initial period into the custodianship of The Parks Trust.
Commenting on the new parks David Foster, Chief Executive of The Parks Trust, said: "We're incredibly proud of our parks, lakes and woodlands and excited about gaining more green space. Whatever your view about the city's development we're convinced that providing our landscape advice and expertise to the developers at this stage will ensure that we'll have great parks to be enjoyed by all in the future. The decision to handover these new parks by the Council and the Homes and Communities Agency is a ringing endorsement of our success at managing most of Milton Keynes existing parks."
