'Our worth has decreased to 145 million pounds this year' says charity that looks after Milton Keynes parks

The charity that expertly looks after MK’s parks, lakes and woodland has published its annual accounts to show the massive sums of money and assets it has to deal with.

The Parks Trust received 4,000 acres of land and £20m in endowment from the former Milton Keynes Development Corporation 30 years ago.

The aim was to create a legacy for the new city of Milton Keynes.

Today, the Trust cares for over 6,000 acres of local green space and generates its own annual income of £10m from endowment property and investments, now worth £138m.

The latest accounts show the Trust's net assets decreased from £150.3m to £145.6m in the 2022/23 financial year. This decline was influenced by tightening global monetary policies and economic uncertainties in the investment market.

Subsequently the Trust's investment funds decreased to £176.7m from £191.5m.

To support its charitable activities, the Trust successfully diversified its non-property assets, providing asset protection during market downturns and generating higher income streams. As a result, the Trust achieved investment income of £10.4m.

Despite economic challenges, the Trust spent £14.9m on charitable activities, with a significant portion allocated to managing parks, lakes, and landscapes. The Trust's headcount also grew to 104 permanent employees compared to 87 the previous year.

A spokesman said: “The past 12 months was another busy and exciting year for The Parks Trust as they focussed on delivering positive impacts for local green spaces, biodiversity, and the local community.

"These included the planting of 77,000 new bulbs, shrubs and trees, the completion of the £3m restoration of Great Linford Manor Park, the recording of three new species; Rare Snipe, Pintail Duck and Clouded Yellow Migrant Butterflies.

"The charity was also awarded the Green Flag Award for the sixth year in a row, hosted two BBC Gardener’s Question Time shows, welcomed 194,000 visitors to events in their parks, received 440 oak saplings grown and donated by city residents and engaged with 140,500 local people through their Outdoor Learning Activities.”

The Trust took on four new areas in MK during the year. These are play areas at Oakgrove, the Oakgrove ecology corridor, green space on the Whitehouse estate, and ‘swale’ green space on Brooklands.

You can view the full accounts here.