Liberty Property Trust : Gold Award for Kings Hill

Kings Hill has received gold and silver-gilt awards in the South and South East in Bloom competition, endorsing it as one of the most attractive places to live and work.

For the second year running the development was awarded gold in the 'Business Landscape of the Year' category, even improving on last year's excellent marks. The silver-gilt was awarded for the 'Village/Town/City Centre' category.

In addition to the 33,000 hours a year put in by 15 full-time landscapers, numerous groups from Kings Hill give up roughly 4,500 hours of their time to help maintain the standards. Commercial tenants, residents and children from the three schools also play their part in looking after their own and communal grounds.

The judges commented on the 'very high standards' of horticultural maintenance, innovative use of plants, the use of sustainable grasses and herbaceous plants to create colour impact along with Kings Hill's overall cleanliness.

They also praised the way reminders of Kings Hill's heritage as a military airfield have been incorporated into the landscaping.

Susan Davies from Liberty Property Trust, the developer of Kings Hill, said: 'As a former airfield, the site was originally flat and fairly featureless so we have worked hard to create an interesting, variable landscape with a range of planting for seasonal colour which encourages different wildlife habitats.

'We are as ecologically and environmentally friendly as possible, selecting only trees, shrubs and plants that can thrive here without the need for watering and only minimal use of herbicides.

'In the last few years we have sown swathes of wildflowers at various locations which have proved very popular, providing months of colour and attracting an abundance of wildlife.

'We are delighted that everyone's hard work has been recognised by the judges.'

Kings Hill is continuing to develop as a garden village, with further residential neighbourhoods planned and a large, central park.

For further information, please contact:

Alison Hardy, Maxim on 01892 513033 / alison@maxim-pr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd is a subsidiary of US-based Liberty Property Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 99 million square foot portfolio includes 560 properties which provide office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,200 tenants.

Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd is developing Kings Hill - www.kings-hill.com - as a rapidly growing sustainable community in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), ensuring economic, environmental and social progress for this and future generations. Kings Hill combines commercial, residential, educational, retail, community, sports and leisure uses within 800 acres of highly landscaped low density parkland and aims to promote quality of life by providing a unique environment in which people can live, work, play and study. In addition to providing accommodation for SME's, Kings Hill also attracts significant international tenants such as Barclays, Rolex, Cabot Financial, Marsh, Arthur J Gallagher and Kimberly-Clark.

Liberty Property Trust UK and Kent County Council formed a collaborative public/private sector 'partnership' to develop Kings Hill as an exemplar mixed-use community. Kings Hill is the County's flagship development for attracting inward investment and promoting regional economic growth.