Milton Keynes recommended for 40,000 extra homes by Labour Party taskforce
Milton Keynes has been identified as a renewed town, and recommended for 40,000 extra homes by the Labour Party’s New Town Taskforce.
The announcement, which coincides with the ongoing Labour Party Conference, comes after the taskforce was formed by the party last year with the target of delivering an additional 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current Parliament.
In January 1967, a formal new town designation order was made covering an area of more than 20,000 acres in North Buckinghamshire, which once constructed became known as Milton Keynes.
Milton Keynes was in the third wave of the original new towns, and according to the 135-page report, published on Sunday September 28, “could support the increased delivery of 40,000 new homes across the city and expansions to the city periphery, to reinvigorate an already highly productive local economy.”
Other proposals include constructing a bridge that binds the northern development with the city centre, while ongoing development accelerates on the eastern site.
In the report the taskforce recommends the Government selects its next generation of new towns from 12 locations, with Milton Keynes the eighth location listed.
The report also proposes the construction of a Mass Rapid Transit system in the city, but does not set out exactly how it would work.
“Government investment in infrastructure could bring the transformational change required to give Milton Keynes a stronger sense of place and completely reshape the way people travel in the city,” it states.
The report goes on to acknowledge that housing affordability is a challenge, with median house prices being 8.47 times the median earnings in Milton Keynes during 2024.
“Milton Keynes offers a unique opportunity to facilitate both urban renewal, and growth beyond its current parameters through a working partnership with the private sector,” the report adds.
“A new towns designation could maximise ambition beyond piecemeal housebuilding and drive a transformational change to the identity of the city and to residents’ ways of life.”
Milton Keynes City Council is set to work with the Government over the coming months to progress and develop a business case, before a final decision on sites is made.
The report concludes that “Milton Keynes City Council are an enthusiastic agent for the proposal and a renewed town approach in the city could deliver transformative, community informed development in one of the country’s original new towns.”
Reacting to the news leader of the city council Pete Marland said: “The announcement that Milton Keynes could be part of the next generation of new towns is a massive opportunity for our city.
“We know here that to do growth well, it needs to be done properly.
“We welcome the change to discuss investment in a new public transport system, more affordable homes and more powers to deliver community infrastructure with the Government, and will be working hard to get started as quickly as possible.”