The Gardens Trust is bringing together academics, developers and policymakers for a two-day conference to ensure the need for green space is central to the Government’s drive for new housing.
‘New Town Landscapes: Learning from the Past, Shaping the Future’ will be held in Milton Keynes on 23rd-24th September 2026 and will focus on how lessons from the past can meaningfully shape future planning, design, governance, and community life. It is conceived as both a scholarly forum and a space for professional and intergenerational exchange, encouraging dialogue between research, practice, and lived experience.
Case studies will examine sites in Europe, the US, the Far East and across the UK, and will include the landscape-led masterplan for Redditch New Town, the ecological networks that shaped Warrington New Town, the use of nature-based design codes in a recent garden village development and the changing perceptions of modern heritage in Scotland ’s New Town landscapes. We will also discuss topics such as international lessons on how to build flexible and adaptable new towns, the training of tomorrow’s practitioners in creating New Town landscapes, rethinking green space in the New Towns, and New Town public art. Speakers include representatives from the Landscape Institute, the Royal Town Planning Institute and Historic Environment Scotland as well as universities and design practices.
Day 2 will have a presentation by James Cairncross, Head of Landscape Architecture, The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes on The Parks Trust’s work caring for the Milton Keynes landscapes, followed by guided tours of Campbell Park and Great Linford Manor Park, including with an option to travel by bike!
Campbell Park is a 46 hectare park designed as part of the New Town and opened in 1984. It is on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest for its role as a central feature in the unique plan of Milton Keynes, its planning and planting to incorporate biodiversity, and its outstanding unified design,
Great Linford Manor Park is a Georgian Landscape Garden with a history stretching back to Saxon times, now incorporated into the New Town as a public park. Covering 10 hectares, it has recently been restored with a £3m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
We are delighted to be partnering with FOLAR, The Landscape Foundation and Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust.
This conference is sponsored by the IHBC.
Image credit: David A. Bailey and the Parks Trust.
