Final touches added to plan to build new 1,150-home estate spilling into Milton Keynes

A new 1,150-home estate called Shenley Park is to be built, complete with a brand new road to link the A421 with the city’s grid system.

The plan comes from Buckinghamshire Council rather than MK City Council because much of the estate is in the parish of Whaddon, on the edge of Milton Keynes.

Councillors today (Tuesday) agreed to adopt a supplementary planning document which sets out how future development should take place.

Shenley Park is an allocated site in the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) 2011-2031, which was adopted by Buckinghamshire Council in 2021 . Within the VALP, the policy requires a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) set out precise guidance.

The SPD identifies where the 1,150 homes should be located, plus a new local centre and primary school. It also identifies how a new link road between the A421 Buckingham Road and H6 Childs Way should be developed.

It further sets out the provision of a landscape buffer between the village of Whaddon and the new development.

Following a public consultation last year, some changes have been made to the SPD to reflect public views and new information. These changes include:

• Shenley Road is to be closed to vehicular traffic and instead be used as an active travel route for walking and cycling
• Building a strategic outer link road of 40mph, reducing to 30-mph speed limit when connecting into H6 Childs Way.
• Informal sports provision and a children’s play area to be located away from the Whaddon buffer to provide greater separation between the two communities
• An area of open space to be located near to the houses in Kingsmead Green at H6 Childs Way to provide recreation land that is away from the grid road reserve.

Residents on Kingsmead and Oxley Park in MK had protested about the loss of Kingsmead Green, a “cherished” area of open space running between the two estates and earmarked for the new road. They were backed by MK South MP Iain Stewart, who aptly is chair of the Common’s Transport Committee.

They say the road would cause major traffic issues, funneling cars from all the new homes into an already congested area during peak hours.

The decision to adopt the Shenley Park SPD was made at a meeting of Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet. Following the meeting, Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, said: “We are grateful to all those who took the time to comment on the proposals and to give their feedback in our public consultation. As a result, some changes have been made to the original proposals which goes to show residents that your voice does count, and we listen to all suggestions and comments made.”

He added: “It is vitally important to us that the development at Shenley Park will create a vibrant new neighbourhood with high quality homes and the accompanying amenities and infrastructure to meet the needs and aspirations of new and existing residents.”

A planning application has already been submitted for the site. The SPD will be used to inform the decision on the planning application.