Frequently asked questions about The Parks Trust and its policies
These questions and answers have been prepared to complement the various policies and position statements that the Trust has agreed over the years. The aim is to help provide a clear understanding of what our policies mean in practice and an explanation of where the Trust stands on a number of important issues.1. What does The Parks Trust do?
2. How does The Parks Trust work?
3. What areas of the city is the Trust responsible for?
4. What areas of the city is the Trust not responsible for?
5. Can the Trust’s land be built on?
6. Has any land been sold for development and where does the money go?
7. What is the Trust’s position on grid roads?
8. What is the Trust’s position on development in Central Milton Keynes (CMK)?
9. Will The Parks Trust be responsible for more land in the future?
10. How does The Parks Trust engage with public opinion?
11. Does the Trust have a wider role than just managing green space in Milton Keynes?
12. Will the Trust sell small parcels of land for house or garden extensions?
For our key policies and position statements click here .
We are always keen to hear your ideas or feedback contact us:
The Parks Trust
Campbell Park Pavilion
1300 Silbury Boulevard
Campbell Park
Milton Keynes MK9 4AD
01908 233600 or email us now
David Foster
Chief Executive
27 Sept 2007
1. What does the Parks Trust do?
The Parks Trust is the independent charity that cares for many of the city's parks and green spaces. This adds up to 4,500 acres of river valleys, woodlands, lakesides, parks and the grid road corridors - about 20 percent of the new city area.The Trust was established in 1992 to ensure that these unique assets were appropriately managed and protected for future generations. Along with a 999-year lease on the parks and grid road corridors, the Trust was endowed with commercial properties and other assets which generate income to finance the work. The Trust is not funded through council tax or business rates.
The Trust’s main job is the physical management of the green space, including grass cutting, pruning, thinning, tree surgery, woodland management, resurfacing paths, repairing bridges and boardwalks, picking up litter and clearing fly tipping, painting benches, bollards and fences.
The Trust is responsible for the maintenance of around 140km of leisure routes (usually with a golden gravel surface) but not for the redways. It is responsible for some horse riding trails in the park but most bridleways are the responsibility of Milton Keynes Council.
The Trust is not just about maintaining the parks and green spaces however – it works for the greater good of Milton Keynes in many other ways. For example it organises around 300 events in the parks each year. It provides environmental education programmes for hundreds of schools groups each year; supports a team of around 200 volunteers; it is training landscape managers of the future from some of the more deprived wards of Milton Keynes through an apprentice scheme; it supports hundreds of community groups and charities to use the parks for festivals and fund raising events; undertakes wildlife management and surveys and creates new habitats; and it cares for dozens of sculptures and other works of art including the famous concrete cows. For a detailed explanation of the Trust's creation and operation see The Milton Keynes Parks Trust Model
For an overview of our activities see The Parks Trust Review and the Trust’s Strategy for the Green Estate
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2. How does the Parks Trust work?
There is a Board of Trustees who are also Directors of the company. The Board sets the strategic direction of the Trust and all major policies. The Trustee’s job is to ensure that the Charity is properly managed and complies with all relevant legislation. Trustees also have a duty under charity law to ensure that the Trust’s assets and resources are only used to further the charitable objects which are:- to provide, maintain and equip greenspaces in and around Milton Keynes
- to advance public education and
- to provide facilities for leisure and recreation.
The Trust has a paid staff team of around 25 led by the Chief Executive David Foster. The largest team is the Operations Team, responsible for the physical management of the green space including letting contracts and supervising the 50 or so contractors. The Community Team runs the education programmes, events, volunteer programmes and community involvement. There is a small Finance and Administration team; a Commercial Manager to look after the commercial property and a Communications & Marketing Manager.
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3. What areas of the city is the Trust responsible for?
The Trust has 999 year leases on the major parks and strategic open space in MK while the freehold belongs to Milton Keynes Council. These areas include: Campbell Park, Ouzel Valley Linear Park, Great Linford Manor Park, Ouse Valley Linear Park, Linford Wood, Howe Park Wood and Shenley Wood, Loughton Brook Linear Park, Broughton and Caldecotte Brooks, Elfield Park and the canalside broadwalk. The freehold/leasehold arrangement means that significant changes to these areas can only be made with the full agreement of both Milton Keynes Council and the Trust.The Trust has 999 year leases on most of the Grid Road corridors; the freehold belongs to Milton Keynes Council. The terms of these leases are different from those covering the parks in that the land can be required by the highway authority for transportation purposes. The Trust has no say in this but does try to ensure the highways authority implements a good quality landscape scheme where it removes parts of a road corridor for a new road scheme.
The Trust has 125 year leases on Caldecotte Lake, Willen Lake north and south, Wolverton Mill Lakes, Blue Bridge (dry balancing lake) and Furzton Lake. The freehold is owned by Anglian Water who are responsible for the flood control structures.
The Trust owns commercial property including 4 local centres, 5 single shops, 8 pubs, 6 industrial developments, 3 office developments, two petrol stations, a health and leisure club and various miscellaneous properties.
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4. What areas of the city is the Trust not responsible for?
Generally the Trust is not responsible for:- landscaping in and around housing areas and commercial property – these areas are usually the responsibility of Milton Keynes Council or the Parish Council or adjacent owners
- ‘highway land’ which includes the roads, roundabouts, land reserved for second carriageways, the central reservations and the first 4.5m of grass adjacent to the highway where most of the services run
- street trees in Central Milton Keynes and within housing areas
- Tongwell Lake, Mount Farm Lake, Blue Lagoon or Emberton Park
- sports pitches (except Campbell Park cricket pitch, Wolverton bowling green, and Kiln Farm football pitch)
- golf courses
- The Grand Union Canal and towpath
- some of the land and hedges along the V4 Watling Street, the land along the A5D, railway and the motorway.
- Play areas (except at South Willen)
Most of the land owned by the Trust is identified on the city atlas but if you need to check whether the Trust owns a particular piece of land please write or email, preferably with the location marked on a plan.
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5. Can the Trust’s land be built on?
The Trust has a general presumption against development of its green estate, which comprises parkland and highway corridor land. This is the opening statement of the Trust’s Land Disposal policy . The primary charitable objective of The Parks Trust is to provide, maintain and equip green spaces in and around Milton Keynes. The Trust was established to ensure that the green space assets were cared for appropriately for future generations.The Trust also believes in working responsibly with partners and local people to respond to the changing circumstances of different generations in a fast growing and dynamic city. From time to time the Trust is approached about giving up an interest in a piece of land. The Trust makes any such decision to release land for development based on clear criteria which have been carefully drawn up and are listed in the Land Disposal policy.
The Trust remains committed to ensuring that there is no overall loss of parkland and that the quality of the environment is enhanced over time.
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6. Has any land been sold for development and where does the money go?
The Trust has sold two pieces of parkland for a residential development that enabled the development of an extra care village and development of Loughton Badminton centre, three pieces of transport corridor to facilitate the development of adjacent development sites and a piece of land beside the railway to allow the station to be expanded. The Trust has also sold various commercial properties to rebalance its investment portfolio in line with its long term financial strategy. For an up to date list see disposals and acquisitions.
If the Trust sells a piece of land the money received stays with the Trust and is reinvested in the Trust’s work. Under Charity Law, the Trust’s money cannot be spent on anything other than the Trust’s charitable objects which are:
- to provide, maintain and equip green spaces in and around Milton Keynes
- to advance public education and
- to provide facilities for leisure and recreation.
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7. What is the Trust’s position on grid roads?
The Trust leases most of the grid road corridors but is not responsible for the roads or their maintenance or the maintenance of the land immediately next to the highway, the central reservations or roundabouts. Nor is the Trust responsible for litter collection in the corridor.The Trust believes that the grid road corridors are an important part of Milton Keynes, giving the city a feeling of space, providing important habitat and wildlife corridors and contributing greatly to the quality environment that helps make this such an attractive city in which to live and work. As the grid road landscape matures the Trust will continue to modify and improve it. For example:
- A major thinning programme is in hand to give the trees space in which to continue to grow and to remove poor specimens
- The maintenance operations include regular, sometimes annual sometime less frequent, coppicing works in order to maintain the vigour, colour and shape of shrubs
- In some areas replanting is taking place to introduce more colour and variety
- The Trust also aims to open up some plantations and to give more depth and views, particularly into parks and of distinctive buildings
- Provide more formal and high quality landscape within the city centre and other appropriate locations.
It is important to note that the lease on the grid road corridors allows land to be taken by the highways authority for public transport purposes eg road widening or new footpaths and redways or for services such as gas and electricity. In these circumstances, the Trust seeks to ensure a good quality landscape is reinstated.
In certain circumstances relatively small sections of grid road corridor may be given up for development but again this is only where it is in line with the Trust’s policy and is supported by the local authority. Each case is considered on its merits, in detail, by the Trust’s full Board.
Usually the Trust will only agree to give up grid road corridor land where proposed development is at ‘points of connection’ between grid squares, so that underpasses and bridges where footpaths and redways cross the grid roads and bus stops are over-looked and feel much safer. Some modest development at a few ‘points of connection’ will also provide landmarks for people driving on the grid roads and help make the city easier to navigate.
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8. What is the Trust’s position on development in Central Milton Keynes (CMK)?
The development taking place in CMK is in line with the CMK development framework, a supplementary planning document that was adopted by Milton Keynes Council in 2002 after a period of public consultation. The Trust would like to see the careful interpretation and delivery of that framework. There will be some loss of landscape along the H5 and H6 grid road corridors and a more formal and more urban landscape will replace it. In principle, the Trust considers that this is acceptable in the city centre and in the best long term interests of the city, although the Trust will still want to consider each development that requires a section of grid road corridor on its individual merits and will want to see a high quality development.
The Trust is also keen to see that the rest of the public realm in CMK is improved and maintained to a high standard. The Trust is pleased that the importance of trees is recognised in the CMK handbook which should be a very useful document and will support Milton Keynes Council in ensuring it is followed so as to ensure a high quality public realm.
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9. Will The Parks Trust be responsible for more land in the future?
Each year the Trust takes ownership of new green space as the city develops and grows – see Disposals and Acquisitions.As the city continues to expand, the Trust is committed to the ‘forest city concept’ which should be extended to the new areas. Given the in depth understanding of green space management possessed by the Trust, it continues to make the case for around 20% of land in all new development to be green space so that the expanded city will offer new residents the same feeling of space and closeness to nature.
The Trust is engaged with Milton Keynes Partnership, Milton Keynes Council and developers in the process of designing the new parks and greenspaces in western and eastern expansion areas. These will include extensions to the linear park system as well as local and district parks and play areas.
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10. How does The Parks Trust engage with public opinion?
People care passionately about the green space in Milton Keynes, and about the Trust, and the Trust is committed to communicating effectively with the people of Milton Keynes and to providing information and explanations. Much greater use is being made of the website as a communications tool. It now contains all major policies, responses to consultations and the Trust’s position on various important topics affecting Milton Keynes. An Annual Public Meeting is planned to present future plans and achievements to date and to answer questions. Return to Questions
11. Does the Trust have a wider role than just managing green space in Milton Keynes?
As well as owning about 20% of the land in the new city, the Trust also has a significant portfolio of commercial property in the City and a wider role as a corporate citizen. The Trust is committed to help make Milton Keynes successful and believes it has a key role to play in that.The Trust plays an active part in the life of the city and its institutions, for example it is a member of the Local Strategic Partnership, and contributes to debate and consultations on the future development of the city (see Responses to Consultations) - not just on questions of open space.
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12. Will the Trust sell small parcels of land for house or garden extensions?
Our general presumption is against disposal and the fragmentation of our green estate. The Parks Trust is entrusted with its land to safeguard it for today’s and future generations and has a carefully worked out policy to ensure any requests for us to dispose of land are dealt with consistently (see the Trust’s policy on land disposal).
Despite many requests the Trust has only disposed of its interest in five pieces of land since 1992. In each case the disposal has been proposed by Milton Keynes Council and English Partnerships, was not to benefit a private individual and was considered by the Trust’s Board to be in the best interests of the city.
It is highly unlikely the Trust would dispose of a piece of land to benefit an individual, for example for a garden extension. The Trust has to think of the precedent this would set as we have some 10,000 properties adjoining our land. There would, therefore, have to be compelling reasons or exceptional circumstances for the Trust to do so.
Even if the Trust’s Board were to agree to a disposal it would not be straightforward as Milton Keynes Council is in most cases the owner of the freehold of the Trust’s land and English Partnerships, have a say too as they usually have restrictive covenants in their favour. Both the Trust and the Council would require independent professional advice and valuations and would be required to recover all their legal and professional fees from the purchaser. Finally any purchaser would be required to get planning permission of a change of use of the land from public open space.
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