The Gardens Trust is cheered by the incredible show of support for its role in the English planning system during the Government’s recent consultation on statutory consultees reforms.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a response or supported in other ways. We robustly contest the proposal to remove our statutory consultee role. We provided evidence that this would not speed up the planning system but risk jeopardising the future of precious parks and gardens that have been created and enjoyed over many centuries. You can read our response and its key points here.
We have been sent copies of many of the responses, and our small and dedicated team has been hugely boosted by the comments about our work:
- “we are certain that the statutory consultation response provided by The Gardens Trust was instrumental in balancing concerns raised by local residents and planning officers, who had little insight into the historic landscape, or how … proposals to transform the grounds for local community benefit would also safeguard the significance of the site. Following expert insights provided by The Gardens Trust, these concerns soon gave way to great enthusiasm and support from the local community, and the project has been an enormous success, but without the support of The Gardens Trust we would likely not have been able to proceed with this project at all.” English Heritage
- “The Gardens Trust is a master in its field. Local planning authorities have neither the capacity nor the expertise adequately to research and address the issues raised by a deep and thorough understanding of designed and historic landscapes and their settings. There can be no advantage in removing expert advice from the system.” Open Spaces Society
- “The Gardens Trust brings dedicated expertise in designed landscapes, planting, landscape character and long-term landscape management, which is distinct from and complementary to Historic England’s role. Removing the Gardens Trust on the assumption that this function can be absorbed elsewhere risks narrowing the assessment of parks and gardens to a buildings led perspective, rather than recognising their full contribution to health, wellbeing, environmental outcomes and place-based regeneration.” Royal Horticultural Society
- “The removal of The Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee will be highly damaging and their expertise cannot be replicated locally. The government does not appear to be in step with communities, who significantly value their local parks and green spaces.” Community Planning Alliance
- “The Landscape Institute (LI) strongly opposes the removal of The Gardens Trust’s statutory consultee status. The Trust provides irreplaceable specialist advice on the impact of development on Registered Historic Parks and Gardens (HPGs), which are Designated Heritage Assets (DHAs) and vital Green Infrastructure assets.” Landscape Institute
- “with the continuing decline in public service budgets for green space management and maintenance, coupled with the ever-increasing commercial and developmental threats to green spaces, the role of the TGT – with its statutory recognition – is more important than ever. In fact its role and voice clearly needs to be strengthened, not weakened.” National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces
- “It is important not to lose or dilute the only voice representing the UK’s historic parks and gardens – achieving sustainable growth should always be a priority, but that does not need to come at the expense of safeguarding our vital green spaces, particularly when 85% of UK adults view them as good for their mental health.” Horticultural Trades Association
- “In the whole time of working on these projects … we never met anyone in a [local planning authority ](LPA) who was able to provide guidance or contribute to proposals for the historic landscape. Any contact with the Gardens Trust and the County Gardens Trust however was quite different – they have this expertise and were informed consultees. It is unrealistic to think that LPAs can acquire this knowledge quickly let alone in the moderate to long term. There are very few specialists in this field and I wonder where they will come from. Let the Gardens Trusts continue to provide this expertise.” Dr Liz Lake, landscape architect
They included many important and clear points reflecting our own key concerns that proposals:
- Will not speed up the planning process: “the removal of statutory status from these three consultees will not make a significant difference to the speed of decision making across the system. … The Gardens Trust receiving requests for 0.56% of applications, … across the system.” Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
- Will leave Registered Parks and Gardens with protection even further reduced from that of Listed Buildings: “A further mitigation offered is that a shift from consultation to notification would result in parity between consent regimes for registered parks and gardens and listed buildings. This seems to us a misplaced argument. The listed building consent system ensures changes to designated buildings are managed with minimal harm to their significance. Development impacts on registered parks and gardens are considered solely within planning permissions, which have different presumptions in both legislation and guidance.” The Joint Committee of National Amenity Societies (JCNAS)
- Would be unacceptably detrimental to the setting of historic parks and gardens, amounting “to a reduction in heritage protection for these important and much-loved heritage assets, whose character and significance is often sensitive to development within their setting. For this reason, it would be in the interest of maintaining the current level of heritage protection for the Gardens Trust to also be notified of applications for development that may affect the setting of Registered Parks and Gardens under the proposed new arrangements.” Historic England
- Will leave Grade II historic parks and gardens particularly vulnerable: “Currently, [The Gardens Trust] (TGT) alone is consulted on Grade II registered parks and gardens, which, if no other measures were to be put in place, will be most at risk if statutory consultee status is removed from TGT. In Devon there are currently 36 Grade II registered parks and gardens representing 62% of the landscapes in the county recognised by Historic England to be of national importance. From [Devon Gardens Trust] experience of planning applications, Grade II registered landscapes are often the most vulnerable to the impact of development proposals, particularly where they are located on the edge of towns and cities where they are also most accessible and of most benefit to communities.” Devon Gardens Trust
Wider support and responses
Other responses included Cotswolds National Landscape Board, C20 Society, Community Planning Alliance, Council for British Archaeology, CPRE, English Heritage Trust, Friends of Caversham Court Gardens, Georgian Group, Historic Buildings and Places, Historic England, Historic Gardens Foundation, Historic Houses, Horticultural Trades Association, ICOMOS-UK, Institute of Historic Building Conservation, International National Trusts Organisation, JCNAS, Landscape Institute, London Forum, National Federation of Parks and Green Space, Open Spaces Society, Parks for London, Public Statues and Sculptures Association, RESCUE, Royal Horticultural Society, Royal Town Planning Institute, Salisbury Cathedral Close Preservation Society, SAVE, Sherborne Brook Support Group, SPAB, Wicksteed Charitable Trust, and individual conservation professionals. Of course, Gardens Trust members, County Gardens Trusts and other supporters rallied too, submitting responses and contacting their MPs, and their help was a huge boost.
Through all this, MPs and peers too have been incredibly supportive, from all parties, writing to Matthew Pennycook, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning who launched the consultation:
- “Liberal Democrats completely oppose the removal of statutory consultation status from The Gardens Trust.” Liberal Democrats
- “I share concerns about the lack of detail the Government has provided about how these changes would operate in practice, and what safeguards would be put in place to ensure that specialist expertise continues to inform planning decisions—particularly in relation to historic parks and gardens. These landscapes are important heritage assets and play a significant role in environmental protection, community wellbeing and local economies.” Kemi Badenoch, MP for North West Essex (Conservative)
- “As an MP representing a constituency where many have significant difficulties accessing affordable housing, I strongly appreciate the need to accelerate and deliver on our house building targets. However, my constituency is also home to several important registered parks and gardens, such as Alexandra Park, and I often hear how important these are to local residents’ sense of community and wellbeing. Parks and gardens are vital to the UK’s economy, support public health by providing free places to exercise, improve air quality, and help to ameliorate the impacts of climate change.” Afzal Khan, MP for Manchester Rusholme (Labour)
The consultation closed on 13th January 2026 and we are now waiting to hear the Government’s decision. Whatever the outcome, we are determined to continue championing the role that the UK’s world-famous historic parks and gardens can play in supporting positive economic growth and healthy cohesive societies.
Whilst we wait for the Government’s decision, we continue to ready ourselves for a future in which we are determined to project parks and gardens for communities to come. You can support this by donating to our Fighting Fund or becoming a Member today.
