7 rundown estates in Milton Keynes prioritised to share £3m windfall

Seven rundown city estates have been prioritised to share a £3m pot of funding from Milton Keynes City Council.

But the money will do nothing to improve the actual houses or living conditions for residents. Instead, it is earmarked to enhance green spaces, play parks and sports facilities, as well as helping to improve residents’ job prospects.

Some of the cash will be directly invested into community programmes to make improvements, while the rest of the funding being made available through a grant system.

The priority estates are the Lakes Estate, Fullers Slade, Bradville, Netherfield, Tinkers Bridge, Coffee Hall and Beanhill.

Al these areas were once part of a massive billion pound regeneration programme launched in 2017, with plans to demolish many of the rundown homes and build new ones in their place.

The plan caused huge uncertainty for residents, with thousands of people on Netherfield, Coffee Hall, Tinkers Bridge, North Bradville, Fullers Slade, the Lakes and Beanhill clue whether their homes will be demolished or what will happen to them.

By the following year, residents claimed the plan has dissolved into an “absolute mess”, and shortly afterwards it was scrapped by the council.

The only estate to receive large-scale regeneration has been Bletchley’s Lakes Estate, where dilapidated flats in Serpentine Court are set to be bulldozed and rebuilt. The date for work to start has still not been fixed.

Meanwhile, in 2020, MK City Council set up Estate Renewal Forums on seven rundown estates as an alternative plan to improve them.

The forums are made up of residents associations, parish councils and other partners, including the police, local businesses and faith leaders. They meet regularly to discuss the priorities for the area and develop improvements plans with support from council colleagues.

The council says it will work with the forums to ensure the “most appropriate” programmes are delivered in each estate.

It is now encouraging the groups or organisations on each estate to apply for a share of the latest £3m funding, which comes through the government’s UK Shared Prosperity fund.

The cash can be used to fund skills training designed to boost job prospects for local people. Grants will also be made available for sports, culture, arts and community based projects.

This will complement the work the council is already doing across its regeneration and renewal estates.

The funding requirements suggest the money should also be used to support local businesses which the City Council will continue doing through its own Economic Recovery Plan.

Cabinet member for Adults, Housing and Healthy Communities, Cllr Emily Darlington, said: “We’re focused on delivering the best for our communities by supporting tenants and children on our estates.

"We have always maintained that regeneration and renewal must go beyond housing repairs and extends to health and employment. By working with local people and supporting them to deliver what their community needs most, we are transforming lives and providing opportunities.

"These communities have huge ambitions and we are helping them achieve their potential.”

A council decision to approve the funding will take place on 13 June.

-