What protection is there for the countryside and wildlife?
Landscape and parks
The Parks Trust for Milton Keynes was set up in 1992 as an autonomous body, independent from the council, to oversee almost all landscaping, apart from play parks. The trust is self-financing and was give an endowment worth around £20m in the form of shops, offices and factories, from which it could draw rental income. David Foster, chief executive of the trust, says this has enabled the trust to resist pressures to build on the parks over time. “We don’t have to compete with other council services for a piece of the pie,” he says. “We know what income we can expect for years to come and that helps retain good staff – highly trained horticulturalists and arboriculturalists – who can plan their work confidently.”
Green design
The original design concept aimed for a ‘forest city’ and foresters planted millions of trees. The council declares itself a “global leader” for low carbon living and was first place in the UK to require all new developments (homes and buildings) to be carbon neutral. The Parks Trust’s sheep and cattle graze around 800 acres of parkland, helping to create a rich diversity of wildlife and encourage the growth of wildflower-rich meadows. The trust also manages three ancient woodlands; owns many ancient wildflower meadows; and has seeded 135 hectares of land with spring flowers. However, the CPRE says that plans for a more integrated public transport system never materialised and that city residents are highly dependent on cars.
MK is first place in the UK to require all new developments to be carbon neutral