The Land Trust announces innovative partnership with Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council for management of Green Infrastructure at Halsnead Garden Village

National land management charity, The Land Trust, has completed a collaboration agreement with Knowsley Council with plans for the Trust to take into ownership and manage the extensive green infrastructure and SuDS network, which will form a key part of Halsnead Garden Village.

Halsnead Garden Village will open up acres of green space to the public, including a new country park, historic woodland and areas such as a new village green.

The charity’s Chief Executive, Euan Hall, expressed his delight at getting the deal signed and outlined how the Trust will work in partnership with the community to deliver a range of benefits.

Hall said:

“We are really pleased to have put pen to paper on this agreement with Knowsley Council and we look forward to working closely with them over the next couple of years to prepare the green infrastructure that will be a vital component of what will be a wonderful place to live and work. The Trust will work in partnership with house builders and Homes England to deliver this vision.

“The key to the success of these garden towns and villages is engagement with the local community and understanding how they wish the open space to be managed for the long term in a financially sustainable way, and to also deliver real and lasting charitable outcomes and social value for the new and existing local residents and community.

“Halsnead Garden Village will be about far more than just the homes built. The Land Trust’s role will ensure that the green spaces deliver physical and mental health benefits, provide educational and training opportunities for local people, improve the environment and biodiversity of the area, protect the investment people make in their homes and most importantly bring this new community together.”

In an effort to tackle the housing crisis gripping the UK, the Government has identified land to develop 49 new ‘Garden Towns and Villages’ across England. These Garden Villages aim to curb urban sprawl and avoid extending existing towns and settlements, instead retaining as much green space as possible to create a fusion of rural and suburban living.

Halsnead Garden Village is the largest combined housing and employment site in the Liverpool City region. Halsnead Garden Village will deliver approximately 1,600 new homes with a range and mix of high-quality housing types from one to five bedrooms, helping to ensure a choice of housing in the Garden Village tradition, while delivering an efficient and sustainable use of land.

It will include a minimum of 22.5 hectares of employment land, securing in the region of 900 new jobs and £40.5m of net Gross Value Added (GVA) per annum).

The Trust will also develop a new Country Park, on land which it currently owns to the south of the M62, as a crucial part of the Halsnead Garden Village offer.

Councillor Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said:

“Green space will be at the heart of life in Halsnead Garden Village and we are delighted to be working in collaboration with the Land Trust to ensure we can unlock the potential of such an exciting development. Working with partners we will be creating the region’s only garden village and somewhere people will be proud to call home for generations to come. We will be engaging with existing residents and the wider community to ensure Halsnead Garden Village benefits everyone.”

As well as Halsnead Garden Village, the Land Trust, is in negotiations with a number of other partners across the country regarding similar projects.

Hall added:

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be leading the Land Trust as we continue to establish our reputation as one of the leading green space management providers in the country.

“We already manage the green space on behalf of nearly 4,500 homes across the country, funded by service charge and with another 20,000 in our development pipeline, this new agreement with Knowsley reflects our growing standing in the industry and is recognition that our community focused approach is the right one.

“Increasingly we are seeing that the success of new developments is measured by far more than just the number of units sold. Social and economic value is now just as important a factor in ensuring a legacy is delivered that everyone involved can be proud of which is why the way the Trust works is so important to the success of projects such as this one.”