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The Parks Trust

Campbell Park Pavilion

1300 Silbury Boulevard

 Milton Keynes

MK9 4AD

Tel: 01908 233 600

Email: info@theparkstrust.com

 

Website: www.theparkstrust.com

 

David Foster

Chief Executive

David Foster joined The Parks Trust as Chief Executive in 2003.  He started his career in the landscape and planning team at Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation (1979 - 1987).  He then had a 10-year spell with the national regeneration charity Groundwork (1987 - 1997), setting up and running a Trust in West Yorkshire and then becoming Operations Director at the head office in Birmingham. From 1997-2003 David was Chief Executive of Thrive, a national charity whose mission is to research, educate and promote the use and advantages of gardening for people with a disability.

David has an HND in Natural Resources and Rural Economics from Seale Hayne College and an MBA from Aston University. He is married with two children.

 

What the papers say about the Parks Trust

A CHARITABLE Trust formed to protect the countryside in Milton Keynes could be developing 32 of its scenic sites for housing, the Citizen can reveal.

 

Milton Keynes Parks Trust has submitted a list of spaces totalling 45 acres – most of it near Willen Lake – to be considered by the council for housing or commercial development.

This week the Trust’s Chief Executive David Foster urged residents not to panic.

“We are still committed to preserving all the parks, lakes and open spaces that make Milton Keynes so special,” he said.

“We are being totally open about the sites submitted. None of them are considered to be an integral part of the parks system or highly valued by the public.”

Many are small pockets of land inherited by the Parks Trust, said Mr Foster.

But dominating the list is a “potential development” totalling 36 acres near Willen Lake. It has not yet been decided whether this development would be residential or commercial.

As well as 5,000 acres of countryside, the Trust owns an impressive portfolio of commercial property, and the list features four pubs –the Countryman at Bradwell Common, Heeland’s Suffolk Punch, the Blacksmith’s Arms on Downs Barn and The Clocktower at Emerson Valley.

Other sites include a paddock at Woughton on the Green used for training police horses, land at Furzton and Mount Farm lakes and the Dinosaur Park at Peartree Bridge

All the suggested sites will need planning permission from Milton Keynes Council and will be subject to statutory public consultation.

The Parks Trust submission was prompted by a council letter to all city landowners, asking for land that could be developed by 2026 under the new Site Allocation Development Plan.

The benefit to the Parks Trust will be hard cash which, says Mr Foster, will “secure and enhance” the remainder of the city’s green space for future generations.

“Like any individual or organisation we have to protect our long-term financial position in this day and age. If we fail to invest now we might find ourselves struggling to look after Milton Keynes’ countryside in 100 years time.”

The Trust, which is currently investing more cash into building in Glasgow, recently inherited another 445 acres of local land from the Home and Communities Agency.

Broughton Gate Skate Park Update - 26 July 2012

We’re pleased to report that, for the most part, the restricted hours (between 10am and 7pm) are being observed.  We’re really grateful for all the cooperation from those who have left the site at closing time each evening and have respected the restricted hours of use. However we have had some reports of the park being used outside of these hours and yesterday evening we had to ask some people who were in the site at about 8pm to leave. It’s really important that the permitted hours of use are kept to.

Our acoustics consultancy will be at the skate park over the next few days to carry out some noise measurements. They will do this in the background whilst the skate park is in use. Their recordings and analysis will enable us to understand the noise from the skate park and the acoustics of the location. This will help us to identify the best approach to managing the noise and reducing its effect on the surroundings. We are also looking into whether any changes to the skate park itself may help reduce some of the noise whilst still keeping it enjoyable to use.

These investigations will take a few weeks and we will provide further updates when more information is available.

Broughton Gate Skate Park Latest News

Following further discussion between The Parks Trust and Milton Keynes Council (MKC) over how to find the best solution to retain the skate park whilst also addressing the issue of noise, last Friday (13 July) MKC issued the Trust with a revised Statutory Noise Abatement Notice replacing the one issued on 27 June. 

The revised Notice still requires the Trust to install a fence around the skate park and to control the hours of use to after 10am and before 7pm.  However the revised Notice now gives the Trust up to 3 months to investigate, assess and then implement the best practicable measures that could be used to reduce noise from the skate park area. The Notice says such measures include, but are not restricted to: the use of noise barriers; modification of the equipment at the park; and altering the layout of the park.

We have already started investigating these measures and had discussed our initial findings with MKC. We appreciate their willingness to work with us and to allow us more time to thoroughly explore all possible options by issuing the revised Notice

We shall be making every effort to try and find ways to keep the skate park and meet the noise abatement requirements. We will maintain regular contact with and seek advice from MKC as this work continues. There is still a lot to be done and some measures we are looking into will require planning permission before they could go ahead. However, we hope by working together with MKC, with Broughton and Milton Keynes Parish Council and with the local community that a solution can be found.

Whilst we carry out further investigations it’s really important that we can count on the local community to help us make sure that the skate park is used and enjoyed responsibly and is not used out of the permitted hours

 

 

We are grateful to the volunteers from the local community who have come forward with offers of help with opening and closing the skate park. We’ve been in touch and will be arranging to discuss the opening and closing with them soon.

Meanwhile the skate park is being opened and closed by a local security firm and this arrangement will continue for the time being.

We have also had various discussions with Broughton and Milton Keynes Council and others from the local community. We are grateful for their continuing help and support

Broughton Gate Skate Park - Update 6 July

In response to the Statutory Nuisance Abatement Notice issued by Milton Keynes Council on 27 June, The Parks Trust will install a fence around the skate park during the week commencing 16 July. This is to limit the use of the skate park from 10:00am to 7:00pm each day in accordance with the requirements of the Notice. Outside these hours the skate park will be closed to all users. The play areas either side of the skate park will not be fenced and these will remain open at all times.

 

Volunteers from the local community have offered to help the Trust with the opening and closing of the skate park each day for which we are very grateful. We request that all park users respect the limited opening hours and ask that no attempt is made to use the park outside the permitted hours. If there are any problems in closing the park in the evenings, if it is used outside the opening hours or if the fence is deliberately damaged this may result in the skate park being permanently closed and removed. Initially a temporary fence will be installed whilst we identify and obtain planning permission for a permanent fence.

 

The Trust is also looking into a number of other measures to reduce the noise coming from the skate park. We have arranged for a specialist company to investigate whether changing the ramps and other features in the skate park will help to reduce the noise. The specialists should visit the site on Wednesday 11 July from about 4:30pm to look at the skate park and speak to users about the idea. We have also brought in a specialist to see whether installing some form of noise barrier is feasible. These investigations are in progress. If we are to be able to keep the skate park, it is likely we will need a combination of measures to be taken in addition to limiting the use of the site.

 

Any suggested measures need to be technically possible, deliver the required noise level reductions (determined by the Environmental Health Department), be economically viable, but also have widespread local support. We hope all this work, the support of volunteers from the community and respect for the opening hours will bring the levels of noise to within acceptable limits and enable us to keep the skate park open

Broughton Gate Skate Park - Latest

Since Tuesday night’s public meeting about Broughton Gate Skate Park Milton Keynes Council has issued us with a Statutory Noise Abatement Notice with conditions which require us to install lockable security fencing around the skate park area to restrict access other than at permitted times, control entry to the park so that there is no access before 10am and after 7pm and, where possible, install sound reduction coating to all surfaces that equipment such as skateboards and scooters will use, or take other measures to abate the noise.  We understand that this Notice supersedes their previous instruction to us to provide a timetable for removal of the facility.

There is still a great deal of work to be done to comply with these conditions as there are many approvals to obtain, maybe even planning permission, but we will do our best to meet them within the 28 day time frame. Hopefully the work specified by the Council will mean that the skate park can remain open and the residents who were affected by the noise will get the peace and quiet they are entitled to.

We will need the help of the local community in making sure the skate park is used responsibly and is not used out of hours and will be discussing this with the Parish Council and Community Action MK over the next few days.

Update on Broughton Gate Skate Park

The Parks Trust has discussed the future of Broughton Gate Skate Park in several meetings with Milton Keynes Council, most recently on Tuesday 19 June.  Our noise consultant, who we brought in to look at the problem, felt that that there were no practical measures that would guarantee to mitigate noise from the site and the Council's position was that The Parks Trust should remove the skate board park as soon as practically possible.

Regrettably, it seems that we have no alternative but to remove the skate park, although the play areas on either side will remain.  Closing the skate park is not something The Parks Trust wants to do but we are facing legal action. We have explained this in a letter circulated to local residents. 

We will continue to discuss the provision of an alternative skate park facility with the Council as a matter of urgency and have a number of sites where we would be happy to consider installing a new facility but, of course, this would need planning permission which could take many months to achieve.

Broughton Gate Skate Park

The skate park in the children’s play area in the linear park at Broughton Gate was specified and designed by Milton Keynes Council and built under a contract let by the Homes and Communities Agency.  It was opened to the public in August 2011.  The Parks Trust took ownership of the Skate Park and surrounding parkland from the Homes and Communities Agency on 1 April 2012. 

Prior to this Milton Keynes Council had received complaints about noise from the skate park.  The Council’s Environmental Health Unit undertook noise monitoring and their report showed that the noise levels generated by it are sufficient to constitute a Statutory Nuisance.  They have subsequently advised the Trust that if a satisfactory solution to the noise is not found, the Council will be obliged to serve a Statutory Nuisance Abatement Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.  They have identified removal of the facility as the only practical option and have requested that the Trust provide a timetable for this course of action.

The Parks Trust employed an independent acoustics expert to see if anything could be done to reduce the noise or mitigate the effects of the noise but the expert’s conclusion was that because of the design and siting of the skate park there are no practical measures that could be guaranteed to work.

We know how disappointed everyone who has enjoyed using the skate park will be if it has to be removed so we are having a final meeting with Milton Keynes Council this week to see if there are any other options we can explore and what the Council might be able to do to provide an alternative facility.   

We will keep the local community informed of our discussions and any progress

All from the Park Trust web site 30 july 2012 if the parks Trust wish to alter this in any way please contact us by email

Media centre

Broughton Gate Skate Park

The skatepark in the children’s play area in the linear park at Broughton Gate was specified and designed by Milton Keynes Council and built under a contract let by the Homes and Communities Agency.  It was opened to the public in August 2011.  The Parks Trust took ownership of the Skate Park and surrounding parkland from the Homes and Communities Agency on 1 April 2012. 

Prior to this Milton Keynes Council had received complaints about
noise from the skate park.  The Council’s Environmental Health Unit
undertook noise monitoring and their report showed that the noise levels generated by it are sufficient to constitute a Statutory Nuisance. 

They have subsequently advised the Trust that if a satisfactory solution to the noise is not found, the Council will be obliged to serve a Statutory Nuisance Abatement Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.  They have identified removal of the facility as the only practical option and have requested that the Trust provide a timetable for this course of action.

The Parks Trust employed an independent acoustics expert to see if
anything could be done to reduce the noise or mitigate the effects of
the noise but the expert’s conclusion was that because of the design and siting of the skate park there are no practical measures that could be guaranteed to work.

We know how disappointed everyone who has enjoyed using the skatepark will be if it has to be removed so we are having a final meeting with Milton Keynes Council this week to see if there are any other options we can explore and what the Council might be able to do to provide an alternative facility.   

We will keep the local community informed of our discussions and any progress