Land Trust committed to 'creating resilient, healthy, sustainable new communities' as it publishes 2018-19 annual review

17th December 2019

National land management charity the Land Trust, says it is committed to ‘creating resilient, healthy, sustainable new communities’ and providing green open spaces that bring communities together as it publishes its 2018-19 Annual Review.

In a year in which the Land Trust celebrated its 15th birthday, the Trust took over the management of six new sites bringing the number under management to over 70.

On three of these sites the Trust has responsibility for managing the green space within residential property developments whilst also delivering social value, a growing area of work for the Land Trust since 2016.

Writing in this year’s review Land Trust Chief Executive, Euan Hall, said:

“This year has been a year of delivery, following some excellent development work in previous years. We are delighted that six new sites transferred to our management portfolio, each with unique opportunities and challenges.

“They each reflect the different variety of work that we carry out and I truly believe that we are the only the organisation in the country delivering the breadth of activity that we do.

“Three of our new sites to come under management are residential service charge and our commitment to delivering charitable impact to these new communities will be high priority for the Land Trust going forward.

“This is particularly important when demand for housing is at an all-time high and a substantial number of new large scale developments are coming through the planning system.

“Since the late 1940’s the country has been successful in building homes – where we have failed is in creating resilient, healthy, sustainable new communities. The failure to create a sustainable green environment in and around these developments is one of the main causes of community breakdown, but we firmly believe that our placekeeping philosophy tackles these issues, bringing new residents and communities together.”

Outgoing chair, Peter Smith, who retires after a decade in the role, highlighted the significant impact the Trust is now having on the communities surrounding the Trust’s green spaces.

“When the Land Trust set out on its journey in 2004 I don’t think anyone could have anticipated how the organisation would grow during that time. Through our work we are now having a positive impact on millions of people, whether that be through physical or mental health benefits, providing educational and training opportunities or protecting the investment people make in their homes through our management of green space around residential property developments.”

Smith, who will be replaced by current Trustee, Bill Hiscocks, added:

“The Land Trust is well positioned to continue to grow and increase its charitable delivery on our sites across the country. I leave it in very capable hands as it continues to make a positive contribution to so many peoples’ lives.”

Alongside the successful transfer of new sites the Land Trust is also celebrating a record year for charitable delivery across its management portfolio with over a million people spending time on Land Trust spaces for the second year in succession.

Some key highlights include:

  • 11,000 children attending organised educational activities
  • 24,000 people attending community events – a rise of 9,000
  • 4,000 people with mental health conditions supported through activities on Land Trust sites
  • 45,684 volunteer hours completed
  • Five Land Trust sites awarded Green Flag status

The result of this activity was over £20 million of economic and social value delivered by the management of our green spaces.

Alan Carter, Director of Portfolio Management for the Land Trust, said:

“It’s fantastic to see the economic and social value that we are delivering across our sites continuing to grow. It is also humbling to hear the many stories of individuals, and their families, whose lives have been positively impacted by the work we do.

“A huge amount of credit must go to our staff and local managing partners who are incredibly passionate about the green spaces around our sites and deliver a wide range of activities that have huge impact on the communities we work with.

“However we couldn’t accomplish as much as we do without the hard work and commitment of our passionate volunteer workforce who contributed over 45,000 volunteer hours to our green spaces.”

To read the full Annual Review, click here.


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