By re-establishing a natural floodplain along the Ouse Valley, the Parks Trust is enhancing the landscape, increasing biodiversity and creating valuable protection from flooding. Designed by Hanson Quarry Products Europe.
We tend to think of the English landscape as being ‘natural’, yet almost all of it is the product of thousands of years of human intervention. This is particularly true of our rivers, which used regularly to overflow into their natural floodplains, creating areas known as floodplain forest, but are now usually contained within their banks. In the outskirts of the city of Milton Keynes, however, a unique project is under way to recreate a floodplain forest.
The Parks Trust – innovative green space guardians
In Milton Keynes, the 1,800ha of parkland, much of which is in floodplains, is managed by the charity the Parks Trust, set up specifically for this role. When it was established in 1992, its assets included commercial property within the town. As a financially secure and independent organisation focused entirely on looking after the city’s parks, the Parks Trust can take an innovative and forward-looking view of the area’s green spaces. In the city’s park development plan of 1994, the idea of recreating a small area of floodplain forest was first proposed. The aim was primarily to increase biodiversity and improve both water and landscape quality, but also to manage the risk of flooding. It has taken many years for the idea to be put into practice, but the first stages of this 12-year project have now been completed.
