Plans submitted for £28m Dutch-style development of homes and shops in historic Milton Keynes town

The project, called Love Wolverton, involved demolishing the Agora to build 115 new homes, shops and community space.

The developers describe the plans as "a 21st Century blueprint for town-centre living", saying the homes will be high density but low-rise.

They say the design comprises six development blocks ranging between two and four-storeys and laid out in a grid of streets designed on Dutch low-traffic ‘home-zone’ principles to be green, sociable and play-friendly.

There will be 86 homes for market and affordable private rent, ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four- bedroom terraced houses. A further 29 apartments will be dedicated to a cohousing community for the over 50s.

There will be a series of car-free streets and shared courtyard gardens to provide a safe environment for children’s play and "neighbourly living", they say.

The plan, which was designed with the input of local residents and stakeholders, the proposals will restore a long-lost street – Radcliffe Street – and bolster Wolverton’s independent high-street with new small shops.

TOWN says the architecture celebrates Wolverton’s redbrick Victorian heritage and rich character, and the layout knits the site back into the town’s walkable street grid

Other features include a new, flexible, high-street community space to be locally owned and managed on behalf of the community, a new ‘pocket’ park created around retained plane trees, and a renewable energy ‘microgrid’ to reduce on-site carbon emission.

There will also be a new sustainable mobility hub, with improved bus-stopping facilities, better cycle links towards Wolverton railway station, and on-site bike hire and electric car club facilities available to all local residents, alongside permit-controlled car parking.

The planning application has taken two years to prepare in consultation with Milton Keynes Council, key stakeholders and residents of Wolverton. Activities included a public review attended by more than 300 people, Minecraft-based design workshops with local schools and an arts-led programme to say goodbye to the soon-to-be-demolished Agora.

TOWN brought together several leading design companies to prepare the plans. These include URBED, Mikhail Riches Architects and MOLE Architects.

Councillor Robert Middleton, Wolverton ward councillor on Milton Keynes Council and chair of the Agora Regeneration Working Group, said: “I’m delighted that after nearly two years of hard work by the developer, community representatives and Milton Keynes Council, this milestone has finally been reached.

"There’s still much more work to do, but I’m confident this redevelopment can deliver for everyone in Wolverton whether small businesses, residents, faith groups or shoppers from outside the area. Our town centre is so very important; thankfully this close to £30million investment promises a very bright future for our cherished and historic town.”

David Rudlin, Director of urban designers and landscape architects URBED, said: “Recent months have shown more powerfully than ever the value of pleasant, safe streets in neighbourhoods where people’s everyday needs are met locally. There is national interest at the moment in how we design places to be dense but not tall, to achieve an inclusive social mix, to prioritise play and nature over cars, and to address the future of the high street

creatively. This scheme has the potential to be an exemplar for others.”

David Mikhail, Director of Mikhail Riches Architects, said: “We’ve tried to capture the Victorian spirit of original Wolverton: pioneering rather than

backward-looking, while learning from the best of what has gone before. The needs of towns like Wolverton today are different from 150 years ago – the focus now has to be on how we help people live fulfilling lives within environmental limits – but there will always be a need for

good homes in liveable neighbourhoods, which is what this scheme offers.”

With the project delayed by market uncertainty and then the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the move to a private-rented sector delivery model is expected to speed up building

TOWN Director Neil Murphy said: “The last few months have shone a spotlight on how uncomfortable many homes are to spend a lot of time in and how much worse living conditions often are for renters. TOWN’s first rental development will pioneer a more community-oriented rent model: generous houses and apartments – 7 per cent bigger on average than national space standards – with plenty of private and communal outside space, accessible to people on a wider range of incomes than if they were for sale."

He added: "Although the delay in reaching this point has been frustrating for everyone, the good news is that we’ll be able to build for rent much more quickly than for sale, meaning less disruption and faster realisation of the benefits of regeneration locally.”

The application is expected to be decided in Spring 2021. If granted, building work will begin in mid-2021 and take up to two years.