MK in Bloom 2013 Portfolio
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Public Realm Services Britain in Bloom 2013 Portfolio www.milton‐keynes.gov.uk/parks‐and‐open‐space/ Milton Keynes Heritage Because Milton Keynes is famous as a new city, visitors to the borough could be forgiven for assuming that it has no history – nothing could be further from the truth! The building of the new town in the South East of England provided a unique opportunity to study and record the archaeology and landscape history of some 22,000 acres of countryside. The Milton Keynes Development Corporation, charged with the task of building the new city, employed a team of archaeologists who located and excavated many sites in the area, making it, in effect, one of the largest archaeological sites in the country. During the past year, five of the boroughs most prominent heritage attractions – Bletchley Park, City Discovery Centre, Cowper and Newton Museum, Living Archive and Milton Keynes Museum – have come together to create The Milton Keynes Collection partnership to: • Raise awareness of the rich history of Milton Keynes within and beyond the ‘new’ city; • Win public and commercial support for its conservation, interpretation and development; • Share resources and expertise in areas such as volunteering, collections handling, governance and marketing; and • Inspire more people to get involved and help to secure this unique heritage for future generations. If you’ve always thought of Milton Keynes as a new city, a specially‐commissioned film will reveal that we’ve been making history for more than 2,000 years. Produced for The Milton Keynes Collection, the film aims to showcase some of the city’s heritage gems, and inspire more of us to visit and get involved. Funded by MK Arts & Heritage Alliance and MK Community Foundation, the film is also an introduction to the Collection and its partners. View it on YouTube‐ “Milton Keynes ‐ making history for more than 2,000 years” Or at… http://www.mkcollection.co.uk/ The Milton Keynes collection, in association with the Milton Keynes partnership organisation has additionally promoted the heritage of Milton Keynes through a brochure to local business, showcasing the projects, legacy and opportunities to work with the organisation to preserve and promote Milton Keynes heritage for years to come. http://www.mkcollection.co.uk/wp‐content/uploads/2011/08/Heritage‐means‐Business.pdf 1 Index Page 1 Milton Keynes Heritage 2 Index 3 Introduction and Launch Events 4 The Open University 5 Caldecotte Business Centre 6 Leon Recreation Ground 7 The Peoples Allotment‐ Pinewood Drive Community Allotment 8 The Blue Lagoon – Local Nature Reserve 9 The Leys – Local Park 10 Fern Grove & Edison Square – Pictorial Meadows 11 Loughton and Great Holm Neighbourhood Action Groups 12 White Spire School – Mark Mattock Cup Entry. 14 Tattenhoe Valley Park 14 The Quadrant Network:Rail 15 Two Mile Ash Environmental Group 16 Conservation Volunteers 17 Hanson Environmental Study Centre 18 Stanton Low – New country park. 19 Community Orchards 19 Smarsden Bell Community Clean Up Day. 20 Cleansing and Waste Management 23 Central Milton Keynes 24 Campbell Park 25 Garden of the Year Competition 2013 26 The Parks Trust 27 Seasonal Colour in Milton Keynes 28 Pictorial Meadows, 28 Mobile Library Seed Swap 28 Fishermead Residents Association 29 Broughton Ridge and Meadow 30 Appendix 2 Introduction and Launch Events “The City That Thinks Differently, Embraces Evolution and Champions Change “ Our vision is to create a city that has a soul, energy and dynamism. Our towns, villages, neighbourhoods and spaces will be desirable, fun, affordable, safe and accessible. It will be a learning city, built and developed by a skilled and well‐educated population. People will thrive financially and emotionally on the buzz of living or working in this international city of the future. Residents and businesses in Milton Keynes are proud of their community and local environment. Milton Keynes has been developed with a mind to the provision of an attractive landscape and environment in which to live, work and play. We see “In Bloom” as an opportunity to showcase how agencies, community groups, residents and businesses come together to celebrate, develop and protect our natural environment, now and for the future. Edible Britain Britain in Bloom 2013 was launched in Milton Keynes with a number of groups receiving seed supplied by the RHS as part of the “Edible Britain” campaign. These groups included projects in Beanhill, Tinkers Bridge, Bletchley and Broughton to encourage community gardening and develop horticultural skills in partnership with Community Action:MK. Additionally, seeds were provided to Network:Rail to welcome them to the MK in Bloom family for their on‐site “allotments” at their Central Milton Keynes headquarters in the Quadrant. 3 The Open University, Walton Hall The Open University purchased Walton Hall & grounds from Milton Keynes Development Corporation in 1992. The main campus is 45 hectares, diverse in character with an abundance of wildlife concentrated in areas to the south west of campus on the periphery of the site adjacent to the river Ouzel. Several areas have been designated for the Great Crested Newt where large ponds and hibernacula’s have been created. The site boasts meadows, Copse areas, and hedgerows, numerous species of broad leaved trees including several species of mature Cedar, high amenity areas like the knot garden, small rose garden, walled garden and general amenity landscape, including sports pitches. The Open University is creating a Legacy Garden as a visual testament of our gratitude to our donors. By remembering the University in their Will, alumni, supporters and staff help keep the University open to all. The garden symbolises the generosity of donors, commencing with white perennial flowering plants, then bursting into full colour to indicate progress and fruition. As the legacy is living and long lasting, so is the garden. White will still be present throughout the flowering seasons to remind us of the gift. • There will be succession planting & all year round interest. • Planting will provide nectar for bees and butterflies • Some plants will be scented. • The garden is partly constructed using recycled materials from around campus including seating and ornamental gates and posts. Planting on the site of the former Crowther Building (above right) has been specifically aimed at attracting beneficial insects, particularly bees and butterflies. Where possible and due to climate change, we are beginning to use more drought tolerant planting, an example of this is the Mediterranean Garden at the Jennie Lee Building (left). Interpretation boards and leaflets have been produced to inform visitors, students and staff of the significance of the biodiversity within the grounds and to highlight specific projects around the site, such as the Great Crested Newt hibernacula. 4 Caldecotte Business Centre Caldecotte Lake Business Park is a prestige Office Park Development which has undergone major refurbishment set against the backdrop of Caldecotte Lake and public parkland, and is a shining example of what an industrial area or business park can look like. The grounds are wholly maintained by ISS Waterers in the employ of the parks developers – Frontier Estates Limited and LaSalle UK Ventures With around one fifth of the new city area given to green space, the majority of Milton Keynes’ business and industrial areas enjoy a parkland backdrop. The park area is very well used by those who work on the site and nearby businesses, including the employees of some well known national companies such as Chrysler Daimler UK and Red Bull Racing. Employees out at Knowlhill, not only look out onto the Loughton Valley Park and Caldecotte Lake, but visit it for lunchtime sandwiches and jogs! The park features a series of ponds and interconnecting rivulets, which all add to the calm and relaxing ambience. The management team are continuing with a program of replanting through the site which has included blue and white lavender, rosemary, photinia red robin, cotoneaster, and yellow genista. 5 Leon Recreation Ground – Green Flag Award Park Milton Keynes has built on its reputation for providing quality open space for visitors and residents with awards for four parks under the Green Flag scheme. Chepstow Drive Local Park in Bletchley, Eaglestone Local Park, Leon Recreation Ground and New Bradwell Local Park have been further developed with input from friends groups, parishes, volunteer groups such as the BTCV and local consultation to provide a range of facilities, events and opportunities for recreation, relaxation and ecological benefit from Easter Egg hunts to Bat Walks and from Spring Bulb Planting to Bird Box making. Milton Keynes latest Green Flag park ‐ Leon Recreation Ground was first established in August 1899 as “Fenny Stratford Recreation Ground” or “The Pleasure Ground”, funded jointly between the town council and local land owner Herbert S. Leon, then owner of Bletchley Park. The land was purchased from the Bletchley Rectory. In 1901, swings were erected and the Chestnut trees on the south side were planted along with Poplar and Lime trees. A Bandstand was erected in 1904 near to where the play area is today. For the first 20 years, the recreation ground was grazed by sheep and was renamed as Leon Recreation Ground in 1937 to avoid confusion with the new Central Gardens (now the site of Bletchley Leisure Centre). The Recreation Ground offers a range of activities and events for all members of the community managed by both the borough and town councils. The largest of these is the “Midsummer Madness” held on the Sunday closest to midsummer and organised by Fenny and Bletchley Town Council, attracting over 3,000 visitors with a host of attractions. Local schools have been involved in conservation and planting events here as well as designing and painting a mural for the skate park. Conservation work is being undertaken to manage the now 100 year old trees to maintain the parks feel.