Just four months after the daring new £2.19m artwork at Station Square was launched, the brightly-painted surfaces are already beginning to peel away.

Chunks of paintwork are flaking off, exposing the plain concrete below, and turning the work’s ‘Walk with Your Dreams’ title into a potential maintenance nightmare.

The deterioration has this week been slammed by city Conservative councillors, who are questioning the Labour-led council about whether the entire scheme was a waste of public money.

Tory leader Cllr Shazna Muzammil said: “After all this money is spent, in less than a few months, you have paint already peeling and going into our drains, surfaces that become a slip hazard when it rains, and potholes which are still there as large as life."

placeholder image — Peeling paint at Station Square

She added: “Nobody is against public art or improving our city centre. We all want Milton Keynes to look good and feel welcoming. This is a busy transport hub used every day by hundreds of people walking, cycling and using scooters. Painting an outdoor floor area like that without clear long-term maintenance planning was always going to raise questions.”

Cllr Muzammil confirmed residents are already raising concerns about the peeling surfaces, potential slip hazards and unresolved infrastructure problems at around Station Square.

The artwork was designed by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori. It covers an area of 3,000 square metres outside MK Central rail station and features vibrant, colourful flooring inspired by Nigerian textile patterns and the city's grid system.

A recent FOI response revealed works cost around £2.19 million, including around £110,000 in design and consultancy fees, £1.86 million in construction and landscaping and approximately £225,000 for the artwork and artist fees. £65,000 of Section 106 developer contributions were also used.

The surfaces are not looking great at Station Square

MK City Council’s Labour administration has said the project was not funded through council tax – but Conservative councillors say this risks misleading residents about how public assets are being used.

The scheme was jointly commissioned by the council and Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP), which funded the majority of the scheme. However, is owned by Milton Keynes City Council and manages land and assets belonging to the city.

Cllr Muzammil said: “Residents were told not to worry because this wasn’t taxpayers’ money. But MKDP is owned by the council. It manages public land and public assets for Milton Keynes.

"That was still Milton Keynes money….And this is a lot of money. When money is spent through MKDP, it is still Milton Keynes money — and residents absolutely have the right to ask questions about how it’s being used.”

Freedom of Information responses also confirmed MKDP does not hold a readily available “as-built” summary of completed works and does not have projections comparing expected future maintenance costs against the previous reported annual maintenance spend.

“When millions of pounds are spent, residents quite reasonably expect someone to know exactly what was delivered and what it will cost to maintain. If maintenance costs fall back on the council later, then ultimately residents are the ones paying for those decisions,” said Cllr Muzammil.

“Every week, residents contact us about potholes, broken streetlights and delayed repairs. People understand investment is important. But they also want confidence that decisions are properly planned and built to last — not creating future costs that our residents end up paying for.”