More than five brand new homes being built EVERY DAY in Milton Keynes

The city has seen almost 8,000 new homes built over the past four years, with 2,000 of them built in the past year alone.

This equates to well over five new homes being built every day of the week, 365 days a year.

Around 500 of the homes built in the past year – 25% – are classed as affordable by Milton Keynes Council.

The definition of affordable is housing for sale or rent for people whose those whose needs are not met by the current market. This includes shared ownership and homes for essential local workers.

Many of the rented homes are apartments within a flurry of recent new developments approved for Central Milton Keynes. But though some of the schemes are specifically -build to rent’ the rents can be high – and the landlords will not consider people who are in receipt of benefits.

But the number of homes being built means Milton Keynes is comfortably beating the government goal of 1,767 homes a year and is building 113% of its target.

In its draft Council Plan for 2022-2026, the council sets out its ambitions for continued “well planned growth” for the city and for increasing the supply of genuinely affordable housing. The plan will be aired on June 15

Council leader Pete Marland this week visited the Wavendon Chase development where Bellway is currently building 168 new homes. The development will include new schools, shops, a health centre and public open space, and is expected to be completed later this year.

He said: “These are strong numbers and put us in a good position as we continue to grow our city. Meeting these targets is really important as it protects Milton Keynes from speculative developments that can happen when targets aren’t met and helps us deliver the homes that families actually need. Hitting our targets is just the start, we’ll keep pushing for more affordable homes to be built that are in line with people’s income.”

Paul Smits, managing director of Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “We were able to show Pete around our two developments in Wavendon, which has formed a significant part of the council’s housing supply in recent years.”