Exciting new Urban Food Market to open at Central Milton Keynes, offering dishes from around the world

A new Urban Food Market is to open as part of a £150m development at Central Milton Keynes.

Unity Place, off the V6 Grafton Street near the Central rail station, will house the new Santander’s UK technology hub.

But it will also house a multi-purpose destination for the general public, offering everything from office space, music nights and dining experiences for both eat-in or takeaway.

Due to open in July, the building is described as “future-forward and inclusive” and is set to become an industry-leading green workplace as well as a “vibrant visitor attraction”.

The food market will include the best street food from local vendors as well as craft beers from Toast Microbrewery.

And a stunning rooftop venue called the Unity Sky Lounge will be a year-round destination with panoramic views and a food and beverage offering to provides an experience “unlike anything else in the city”, said a Unity Place spokesman.

“There is everything from Indian, Turkish, Japanese, European, there’s tastes from far and wide all in one place. Enjoy an interactive experience, watching experienced chefs get to work creating amazing dishes that smell unbelievably delicious,” she added.

“Enjoy a beer or soft drink from our Rye’s Deli, or grab a socially conscious hot drink with ‘Change Please Coffee’, where social enterprise and coffee expertise blend. From every cup sold 100% of the profit goes towards giving people experiencing homelessness a living wage job, housing, training, onwards opportunities — and a fresh shot at a life.”

There will even be a special app called Time2Eat @ Unity Place, which people will be able to download from the App Store or Google Play. It aims to give users speedy ordering, menus to browse and payments all in one place.

Unity Place also aims to be a leading social enterprise hub in the area. It will be celebrating many community-focused events, such as Milton Keynes Pride, and will be screening all key sports events and momentous occasions.

There will be music nights on Fridays and even parent and toddler coffee mornings.

The eight-storey building will replace Santander’s existed offices on Midsummer Boulevard and will bring together all the banking giant’s employees, who are currently spread across four offices.

It will also house working space from x+why, a flexible workspace provider that supports a community of members who believe that business should be used as a force for good.

The spokesman said: “Unity Place aims to create a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive future for Milton Keynes, where community, business, and leisure are brought together through a shared ethos. As a landmark destination in Milton Keynes, we aim to shape the landscape with a future-forward, multi-purpose facility that champions environmental stewardship and fosters social connectedness.

"Designed as a purpose-built, green workspace and vibrant visitor attraction, Unity Place will be the cornerstone of the city's evolution, bolstering local pride and aspirations.

“By embodying a planet-first approach and fostering an environment of unity, we aspire to make a lasting, future-proof contribution to the city's landscape, both physically and figuratively.”