The city council is assessing all of its 2,000 garages to see if they could be put to better use – possibly as much-needed houses or flats.

It will focus on garages that are not used by tenants and sometimes lying derelict and vandalised.

These could be sold off privately to developers to transform into new housing sites or they could be used to provide EV charging or extra parking to benefit the community.

MK City Council says the move would enable them to invest in retained sites, cut long-term costs, generate funds from selected sales, and transform surplus land into housing, parking, EV charging and other beneficial uses for residents.

All council garages are to be assessed to see if they can be put to better use

placeholder image — All council garages are to be assessed to see if they can be put to better use

A new five-year Garages Asset Management Strategy has been drawn up to set out how the 2,000 garages and carports will be managed.

A council spokesperson said: “The city council will continue investing in garages that are valued by residents, but it will bring unwanted ... sites back into use in ways that better meet the needs of local people.”

They added: “Over time, the city council will manage a smaller, more highly used and better maintained portfolio of garages, which is a ‘win win’ for it and for local people; long-term maintenance costs will be lower and better value for taxpayers, and residents living next to former garage sites will have useful facilities in their community rather than run down sites that attract vandalism.”

Work to implement the strategy will begin immediately, including restarting garage lettings, reviewing priority sites and developing proposals for locations identified for alternative uses.

Residents will be consulted as specific projects come forward.

Deputy council leader, Cllr Lauren Townsend, said: "This strategy is about making better use of land that has the potential to deliver real benefits for local people. By investing in garages that residents want to use and reimagining sites that aren’t wanted, we can create more parking options, unlock spaces for new homes and improve neighbourhoods.

"We're taking a long-term approach to make council-owned assets work harder for our communities, whether that's through extra parking, new homes, greener infrastructure or other local improvements."