Green light for ambitious Milton Keynes theatre district tower scheme as highway closure approved
Milton Keynes has taken a major step closer to welcoming one of its most ambitious city centre redevelopments, after the Department for Transport approved the closure of two small highway sections near Avebury Boulevard.
The move paves the way for the transformation of the existing Milton Keynes Theatre multi-storey car park site into a vibrant new quarter for the city boasting hundreds of homes and potentially providing a major boost to the leisure scene in the area.
The landmark development, backed by Milton Keynes I Limited and approved by the city council earlier this year, will see the car park demolished and replaced by striking residential towers rising up to 25 storeys. In total, 285 build-to-rent apartments will be delivered, helping to address the city’s pressing need for high-quality housing in the heart of Central Milton Keynes.
Alongside the new homes, the plans include a wealth of ground-floor amenities designed to enhance the city’s cultural and leisure offering. Residents and visitors can look forward to restaurants, cafés, and bars, as well as the potential for a cinema, leisure facilities, and new community meeting spaces. Public realm improvements around the site will also create a more welcoming environment next to Campbell Park and the theatre district.
The leisure offering is expected to complement the nearby theatre and gallery, providing new spaces for dining before a show, drinks afterwards, and family-friendly attractions throughout the week. Developers hope the mix of cultural, social and leisure activities will help cement Central Milton Keynes as one of the region’s top destinations for entertainment.
Supporters have hailed the project as an exciting step towards making Central Milton Keynes an even more attractive place to live, work and spend time, with a stronger evening economy and better facilities on the doorstep.
The Department for Transport’s “Stopping Up of Highways (South East) (No.31) Order 2025” is largely procedural, but crucial to enable the project to move ahead. It allows two redundant highway areas to be incorporated into the development footprint.
Anyone wishing to challenge the order has six weeks from 14 August 2025 to apply to the High Court.