The Parks Trust is committed to holding, protecting and conserving the parks and landscapes in our care. We refer to this land – the land we hold under our charitable remit - as our ‘Green Estate’.
Retaining this land under our stewardship and ensuring it is there to provide for the greenspace needs of Milton Keynes is our default position. However, Milton Keynes is a dynamic city that is constantly growing and evolving which places new demands and pressures on land and the way it is used in the city. This creates the need for new and different forms of infrastructure and utility services to be provided on or through land. The demands and pressures on land means The Parks Trust sometimes has to consider proposals to dispose of or to grant new rights over areas of its Green Estate.
In all such cases, we will always weigh the reasons for the proposed disposal against the role, use and value of the land as greenspace and the effect the disposal would have on The Parks Trust, on our retained land and on the Trust’s ability to fulfil its charitable purpose. A key principle we apply when considering any disposal is that there must be a wider benefit arising from the disposal than it being for individual or private advantage. This means, for example, that we will not dispose of land for private garden extensions or for individual or piecemeal developments.
Furthermore, when considering any disposal, whether this be to permanently give-up an area of land or to grant new rights to others over land we retain (e.g. for a new access route), The Parks Trust as a registered charity has the legal duty to act in the best interests of the charity and in the furtherance of its charitable objectives. Accordingly, any decision to dispose of or to grant new rights over any of The Parks Trust’s Green Estate will be made after careful consideration of the benefits and impacts that would arise from the disposal and any disposal will be subject to the necessary due diligence process being carried and shall be for appropriate terms.
Our approach to this is set out in our Green Estate Land Disposal Policy.
Established as an independent charity in 1992, The Parks Trust expertly cares for over 6,000 acres of beautiful and inspirational green space in Milton Keynes including parks, ancient woodlands, lakes, river valleys and 80 miles of landscaped areas along the city’s grid roads.
