The Historic Landscapes Assembly 2026

Join us at 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 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

DAY TWO

9.15 Tea/coffee available

9.30 Introduction to the History, Role and Management of Designed Landscapes within Milton Keynes with James Cairncross, Head of Landscape Architecture, The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes

11.00 Guided Tours of Green Spaces in Milton Keynes, offering delegates the opportunity to experience the city firsthand and continue discussions in situ

Delegates can choose either a guided tour on foot of two of the city's main parks:

· the 46-hectare Campbell 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, 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.

Or a guided tour of the city's green spaces by bike (bike hire included in the ticket price), including visits to Campbell Park and Great Linford Manor Park, as above, plus the chance to explore other aspects of the city's 2,400 hectares of green space. The bike tour will be on largely flat ground and at a gentle pace.

Both tours will include time to stop for lunch (cost not included).

4pm Close, with transport provided as necessary to return delegates to the Milton Keynes Gallery or the train station.

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

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This ticket is for the ONSITE 2-day Conference at The Sky Room, MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Blvd, Milton Keynes MK9 3QA (followed by a guided tour on day 2)

Tea/coffee and a buffet lunch for Day 1 are included in your ticket, and morning tea/coffee for Day 2. A recording of Day 1 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 1 only onsite can be purchased . Prices from £85 with a further Early Bird discount whilst tickets last

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

Day 1 of the Conference can also be viewed online via Zoom and you can purchase a ticket, which includes a recording available until 23 Oct. Prices from £35

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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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