New Parks For A Growing City
Milton Keynes is set to have 667acres (270 hectares) of new parkland over the next10 years.
Over 20% of Milton Keynes' planned expansion will be dedicated as green space and will include 33 children's play areas, 27 hectares of playing fields and many informal areas of woodlands, meadows and ponds. As part of the planned expansion this green space and the funds to take care of it will be handed over to The Parks Trust to manage in perpetuity.
The new parks and green spaces will be laid out in four main areas - the western and eastern expansion areas, Santonbury Park Farm and Newton Leys. Click here for further details including a map
Other development, such as that underway at Tattenhoe Park will also add to the amount of green space handed to the Trust. 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 Milton Keynes Partnership, 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 Milton Keynes Partnerships is a ringing endorsement of our success at managing most of Milton Keynes existing parks."