This is how huge draughty space is to be transformed at Central Milton Keynes shopping centre

Planning permission was this month granted to regenerate the Boulevard underneath the vast 18m high domed that links the two centres.

When Midsummer Place shopping centre was built in the year 2000, it was a planning requirement that it should not physically attach to the original building. Thus there is a one metre gap between them.

Critics have described this gap over the years as one of the city’s worst wind tunnels, leading to a draughty atmosphere in the atrium-covered Boulevard.

The new plan now intend to revamp this space with a cosy village green-type events space, surrounded by homespun wooden food cabins clad in natural wood with grass roofs.

Each of the four cabins will house two different eateries. Some will be occupied by Midsummer Place’s existing food operators, while the others will house new “well-known and loved national brands,” say Midsummer Place bosses.

A central green area that will offer additional seating and can transform into an event space for performances, live music, dance, theatre, children’s craft activities, community arts and more.

Shelley Peppard, General Manager at Midsummer Place, said: “The new development will become a focal place for people visiting the city centre and be a welcome addition to the overall offering Midsummer Place has.”

She added: ““We have some incredibly exciting new eateries joining Midsummer Place in both the permanent units and the cabins, which will be announced in due course.”

Work is expected to start in the autumn and be completed over two months – just in time for Christmas.

The Boulevard is the first phase of exciting changes to the look and feel of Midsummer Place that Asset Management company, Ellandi is spearheading.

They plan to repurpose existing stores, bring in new concepts and enhance the overall offering.

Asset Manager from Ellandi, Tom Ellams, said: “Midsummer Place is a premium shopping destination that sits in the heart of one of the fastest growing cities in the UK. It presents an attractive proposition for food, retail and leisure operators that will benefit from the high footfall that Central Milton Keynes offers, plus the continued development in and around the new city.”