Residents angry over plans to build block of flats on Milton Keynes estate

Residents knew the land at Walton was allocated for development, but say they expected a cluster of houses rather than 30 flats.

Some 36 per cent of the apartments will be allocated as social housing.

"The flats will look out of place and dominate the area. The dwelling density is nearly three times that set by the original Milton Keynes Council’s Plan:MK," said chair of Walton Community Council Lesley Sung.

She said the accepted density for residential areas in MK was around 35 dwellings per hectare.

But the plan for the Walnut Tree site, which is near Hindhead Knoll, equates to 80 dwellings per hectare.

"Somehow the density set out in Plan:MK was changed without our knowledge," said Lesley, whose council is now considering complaining to the Ombudsman.

The land is owned by Milton Keynes Development Partnership, the cash-generating development arm of MK Council.

All the proposed flats will have two bedrooms and 11 of them will be for rent as social housing while the remaining 19 will be for sale.

"There is only a small demand for two bedroomed flats. The biggest demand is for three bedroom houses and they would be far more suitable for this site," said Lesley.

The planning application is currently out for neighbour consultation and the community council is urging people to lodge their views via the council's planning portal.

The consultation ends on November 22.