The Parks Trust (originally, the Milton Keynes Parks Trust) is a British registered charity formed in 1992 by Milton Keynes Development Corporation to take over the public parks in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
It was given a £20 million endowment, based mainly in various commercial and retail properties in the city, and a 999-year lease on around 4500acres of open space. The Trust's chief executive is Victoria Miles MBE.
Many of the parks feature significant public art, particularly in Campbell Park.[1]
Milton Keynes is unusual in that most of the parks are owned and managed by a Trust rather than the local authority (Milton Keynes City Council), to ensure that the management of MK's green spaces are largely independent of the council's expenditure priorities.[2]
Together, the Parks Trust and the City Council manage 6335acres of parkland, woodland and other open space across the City of Milton Keynes unitary authority area.[3]
As well as formal parks, the Trust looks after of lakes, the verges of of roads and three ancient woodlands. In total, the Trust looks after over of green space across Milton Keynes.[4] Notable parks include Willen Lake[5] in the east (the most popular public green space in Milton Keynes), Stanton Low Country Park[6] in the north-west, and Howe Park Wood[7] in the south-west, as well as various forest and nature reserves and floodplains around MK.