Plans unveiled to turn multi-storey car park into block of 280 flats in Milton Keynes city centre

Developers have this week unveiled plans to turn a multi-storey car into a block of 280 new flats in Central Milton Keynes.

Packaged Living, a build to rent developer, has identified the currently disused car park near MK Theatre as am important ‘gateway’ site.

The company has now opened a public consultation on its its plans.

They want to convert the building into one, two and three-bedroom homes for rent, complete with shared spaces, co-working areas and a rooftop garden for residents.

A new leisure venue would be provided on the ground and first floor, they say.

Packaged Living has bought the 330-space car park from Milton Keynes City Council, which announced its closure in 2020, saying it was failing to attract many users even at the knockdown rate of 15p an hour.

The council was keen to get the loss-making building off its books, with an officers’ report stating: “The only time it has ever been well used has been when it has been free.”

The flats plan comes as thousands of new apartments are springing up all over CMK, some of them as a result of office to housing conversions and many of them in high rise.

Council figure show 730 new apartments have been completed since 2018, plus 261 young people’s flats at the new YMCA building. But well over 1,500 more are in the pipeline and have either been granted planning permission or agreed under permitted development rights.

King of the high rise will be the ‘MK Gateway’ development – 288 apartments to be built in one massive 27-storey block and four other four-storey buildings at Saxon Court, the city’s former Covid vaccination centre.

Meanwhile, 450 more apartments are planned in tower blocks at nearby Campbell Park.

Packaged Living is already familiar with the area as the company developed The Almere, two tall blocks housing 294 rental apartments near The Hub i on Avebury Boulevard. This opened last year.

The company purchased the multi storey car park in May.

Sophie Gunn, Associate Director of Development at Packaged Living, said: “This is an important gateway site for the city, in the cultural quarter alongside the theatre and gallery, and next to Campbell Park.

"It will be perfect place for city-centre living, with all the shops, restaurants, and beautiful green spaces on its doorstep. The success of The Almere shows that there is still unmet demand for high-quality rental apartments in the centre of Milton Keynes.

“We want to deliver a really special building on this important site, with a new leisure venue to complement the cultural quarter and better public space to improve the links from the city to Campbell Park. We look forward to hearing what the public think about our proposal before we submit a planning application to the council later this year.”

The plan will also bring public realm and street improvements to improve the connections between the city centre and Campbell Park, says the company.

A public exhibition about the proposals is being held at the MK Gallery’s event space on September 12. People are invited to view the proposals, find out more about the consultation event, and submit feedback here.