Brand new neighbourhood of 1,800 homes complete with schools and shops to be built on the edge of Milton Keynes

The large controversial Salden Chase development has been given the green light for the outskirts of Milton Keynes following a planning appeal.

On Friday the Planning Inspectorate granted permission for the final part of the development to go ahead on the land that would affect MK - between Bletchley and Newton Longville

It concerned the Bottledump roundabout and new access on the A421 to facilitate the massive new estate, which had prompted long-standing objections from Milton Keynes Council.

Local councillors had urged the developer to withdraw the planning appeal, saying Salden Chase would be a 'blot on the landscape' for Milton Keynes. Their concerns included bad design, pressure on MK services and traffic issues.

Some of the homes would fall in Milton Keynes and the others in Aylesbury Vale council area. MK Council refused the application on the MK side of the border but councillors in Buckinghamshire approved the plans on their side.

The development will provide up to 1,855 mixed tenure dwellings, a new primary school and a secondary school, an employment area, a neighbourhood centre including retail and community buildings, green space and a public transport infrastructure.

It will lie is to the south west of Milton Keynes between the A421, Whaddon Road and the former Oxford to Bletchley railway line.

Cllr Allan Rankine, Conservative councillor for Bletchley Park, said today: “I am very disappointed the Salden Chase development will be going ahead. Local Conservative Councillors have been working hard to oppose the inappropriate and environmentally damaging site but unfortunately the developer’s appeal has succeeded."

Cllr Rankine added: "I am concerned about the pressure this will put on already congested local roads and other public services and I will continue to fight hard on behalf of our residents and explore other ways of trying to stop this development going ahead.”

The developers are called the South West Milton Keynes Consortium, which consists of five big-name developers. They say their plan would provide a "logical new neighbourhood" for Milton Keynes, and complement the existing communities at Tattenhoe Park, Kingsmead and Far Bletchley.

Some 30 per cent of the new homes will be affordable housing. There will also be a grid road reserve to provide a route for a Bletchley Southern Bypass.