The Historic Landscapes Assembly 2026 - DAY 1

Join us for the Gardens Trust’s annual conference in Milton Keynes for New Town Landscapes: Learning from the Past, Shaping the Future
About this Event

Join us for the first day of this two-day conference which will bring together academics, practitioners, policymakers, and those with direct experience of New Town development to explore how the histories of New Towns can inform their futures. In partnership with FOLAR, the Landscape Foundation, and Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust.

This conference is sponsored by the IHBC and is conceived as both a scholarly forum and a space for professional and intergenerational exchange, encouraging dialogue between research, practice, and lived experience.

DAY ONE

9.15 Registration and tea/coffee

9.30 Welcome from John Watkins, Gardens Trust Chair

Keynote address: to be announced

Building the Future: Britain’s New Towns with Dr Alistair Fair, Reader in Architectural History, University of Edinburgh

New Jerusalems, New Landscapes: Rethinking Green Space in the New Towns with Dr Alina Congreve, education professional

From Britain to America and back: methods of analysis to facilitate a landscape-led masterplan. A case study of Redditch with Luca Csepely-Knorr, University of Liverpool School of Architecture

Tracing Ecological Networks across Western Europe: The Transnational Making of Warrington New Town with Joy Burgess, University of Liverpool School of Architecture

From Fengshui and Parkway, to Dolphins: New Town Landscapes in Hong Kong with Juliana Kei, University of Liverpool School of Architecture

Introduction to research on Milton Keynes landscapes with Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust

Lunch

Futureproof New Towns: International lessons on how to build flexible and adaptable new towns with Dr David Mountain, Research Manager, Royal Town Planning Institute

Irving No More? Lost Futures in Scotland’s Penultimate New Town with Joss Durnan, Senior Ancient Monuments Officer, Historic Environment Scotland

Heritage in Practice: Teaching and Learning from the Landscape of Britain’s New Towns with Dr Camilla Allen, Lecturer, School of Architecture and Landscape, Sheffield, and Anna Livingstone, Graduate Masterplanner, CSA Environmental

Skerningham Garden Village – ‘nature-based Design Codes’ with Alan Wann, DesigNE and Peter Owens, Colour

Tea

Panel discussion with sector professionals and local voices, including the Landscape Institute, Royal Town Planning Institute, National Trust, IHBC, and Central Milton Keynes Town Council

New Town public art: connecting past-present-future with Dr Andrew Demetrius: University of St Andrews

5pm Close

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Image: Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, © David A Bailey

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This ticket is for DAY 1 only ONSITE Conference at The Sky Room, MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Blvd, Milton Keynes MK9 3QA and includes in your ticket Tea/coffee and a buffet lunch.

A recording of the event will be made available to attendees for a month afterwards, until 23 Oct.

Ticket sales close 2 weeks before the conference, on 8th Sep @ 5pm.

If the ticket you wish to purchase is sold out, please hit the ‘contact the organiser’ button as we may be able to vary the available ticket type up to the attendee maximum.

However, do note that you can book the online ticket up to 4 hours before the event if an in-person ticket does not become available.

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Tickets for Day 2 only onsite can be purchased Prices from £50.

Tickets for Both days onsite can be purchased Prices from £125 with a further Early Bird discount whilst tickets last

Day 1 of the Conference can also be viewed online via Zoom and you can purchase a ticket , which includes a recording available for a month afterwards, until 23 Oct.

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Venue:

The Sky Room, MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Blvd, Milton Keynes MK9 3QA

Accommodation:

Please note that we suggest overnight accommodation, but bookings will be the responsibility of the attendees. This ticket does not include accommodation.

Travel:
There are metered parking spaces and a multi-storey car park in the vicinity.If travelling by train, regular bus services (routes 1-8 & 300) run from MK Central Station bus stops Y1/Y2/Y3/Y5. (Ask for the Theatre District stop on Midsummer Boulevard.)

Taxis take c.5-10 mins from MK Central Station

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