The Parks Trust publishes its accounts showing almost £150m worth of assets in Milton Keynes

And this has resulted in the The Parks Trust investment funds increasing to £178.1m.

Set up in 1992, the trust inheritated much of its land and buildings from the former Milton Keynes Development Corporation when it was wound down.

Its portfloio has grown steadily ever since as it receives additional endowments, initially from the Commission for New Towns, then English Partnerships, and more recently various developers.

It also receives from MK City Council some Section 106 monies, which are contributions from developers building in the city.

The trust cares for over 6,000 acres of green space in MK, including river valleys, ancient woodlands, lakes, parks and landscaped areas along the city’s grid roads.  Staff and volunteers work hard to support local wildlife and biodiversity, provide valuable facilities for park users, deliver extensive education programmes and connect communities with events and activities. 

Today’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023/24show how The Parks Trust’s net assets have risen by £4.1m over the past year as has its funding of charitable activities, which amounted to £15.2 million last year.

A diverse portfolio comprising of commercial property portfolio and financial investments has helped The Parks Trust’s investment income reach £11.1 million during 2023/24.

The endowments allocated for new land transfers to The Parks Trust amounted to £1.4 million, with them having completed the transfer of a local play area in Whitehouse Park, in addition to securing ownership of three smaller land parcels situated across different areas within the city.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “It was another jam-packed year for The Parks Trust, with their teams and volunteers going above and beyond to deliver outstanding work throughout the seasons, living by and consistently driving their values of being committed, inspirational and collaborative to ensure they achieve their mission to provide beautiful parks, woods, and landscapes, to be loved by the people of Milton Keynes forever.

“Over the last 12 months there have been so many good things to celebrate and recognise.”

These incluse The Parks Trust volunteering programme achieved Investing in Volunteers accreditation, Campbell Wharf Marina winning The Yacht Harbour Association Inland Marina of the Year, the adoption of MK Health Walks, a tree planted in celebration of coronation of His Majesty King Charles II, and the successfuly Willen on Ice.

The trust also earned the coveted Green Flag Award for the 7th consecutive year.

The Parks Trust chair Nick Lloyd said: “Milton Keynes continues to grow and the scope of what we can and would like to provide also grows. We are constantly ambitious.

"As we are a charity and we fund our operations and the management of the parks from the income of investments we make to create the money that pays for it all, we have to be ever mindful of striking the right balance between all the projects we would like to undertake, maintaining the core high quality of the parks, dealing with the growth of the city... on the one hand and, on the other hand, safeguarding the financial position of the Trust so that it can continue to provide the parks at no cost to you or the tax payer generally.”