Parks Trust invites people to its virtual annual meeting in Milton Keynes

The Trust published its annual report today and it is available to download here .

Board chairman Richard Forman said "We usually present our annual report at a public meeting in July at which anyone can attend and hear about our work and ask us questions. So that we can still share this with you, this year, in place of our usual event we've produced a video of our chairman and chief executive providing an overview of 2019/20."

The Parks Trust started the year in "pretty good financial shape" but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to make "serious cuts" in expenditure and re-focus on managing the parks and landscapes as cost effectively as possible.

"We hope for a swift recovery following the pandemic, to enable us to achieve our goals for the next few years," said Mr Forman.

He added: "The lockdown has led to many people discovering new green spaces on their doorstep and they now have new favourite places and favourite walks.

"Many more people now really appreciate just what a precious resource we have here in Milton Keynes and the love for our parks has never been stronger. And across the country people have come to realise just how vital parks are for both our physical and mental health. That has been one of the few plus points of the pandemic and, as we come out of the crisis, Milton Keynes is better placed than most cities to meet that need."

The Trust’s financial position at the end of 2019/20 shows an increase in net assets of £2.6m to £116.4m. During the year the Trust’s income was mainly from its commercial property portfolio (£7.82m), with financial investments bringing in £1.03m, endowment income £0.80m and farming income generating £0.46m. Operational income was £0.36m.

The Trust made an operating loss of £243k. This includes a non-cash goodwill payment of £313k relating to the Trust's investment in Whitecap Leisure Limited, which is its trading subsidiary company, as well as a non-cash loss of £362k relating to interest rate swaps.

After adjusting for these items, the Trust would have returned an operating profit of £432k.

If anybody has any questions for the Parks Trust, they can email them to [email protected] or via the Trust's Facebook or Twitter pages.

They must be received by Thursday July 23 and will be answered in a video which will be posted on the Trust's social media channels.

The Parks Trust is an independent charity that cares for over 6,000 acres of parkland and green space in Milton Keynes. This includes the river valleys, ancient woodlands, lakesides, parks and landscaped areas alongside the main roads that represent 25 per cent of the city. It is entirely self-financing.