Campbell Park – a landscape-led neighbourhood
Green and healthy living
Canal Basin by Andrew Mahaddie © Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Crown Copyright. Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Image courtesy of Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre
Walton Lake by Andrew Mahaddie © Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Crown Copyright. Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Image courtesy of Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre
Milton Keynes has been described as the UK’s garden city, a city of trees. Campbell Park North will be a new landscape-led neighbourhood of 1,500 homes, lying east of the city centre, and rooted in the principles that underpinned the creation of this, arguably, the country’s most successful postwar new town.
We aim to create a place, proudly Milton Keynes, an extension and evolution of the original idea (see Andrew Mahaddie’s original concept sketches from the 1960s), not a transplant of current urbanism. What makes the former town, now a city, special is its rational grid, high-quality infrastructure and generous open green space, which run against the orthodoxy of irregular density.
Campbell Park North stands apart from many recent suburban developments because it holds true to the city’s original infrastructure, keeping the existing gridded roads and celebrating the network of shared-use paths known as the Redways. The main pedestrian routes to the city centre will also accommodate the ever-growing range of small personal electric cycles, scooters and even autonomous electric delivery buggies.
Another theme we’ve utilised from the original 1970s vision is the importance of generous green spaces. Campbell Park North has over 60 percent green open space. Not only do residents have access to the 100-hectare Campbell Park, but they can also enjoy six communal gardens, each with different shared facilities, including allotments, play spaces, tool sheds and ecological areas for wildlife to thrive.
Reminiscent of Port Loop, our current project with Urban Splash, these green spaces rally against segregation and will foster community values in this future neighbourhood.
Written on 21.08.2024, by Glenn Howells
