174 new homes and community event space coming to historic part of Milton Keynes

The 9.5-hectare site, which sits between Brickhill Street and Simpson, with Simpson Road to the south and Groveway to the north, has has been allocated for development in the local plan.

The land, owned by the council-created landholder, the Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) is currently grassland with hedgerows, patches of trees and scattered scrub.

Supporting documents say there is not much plant diversity but there will be a range of measures to maintain hedgerows, plant more trees and provide bat and bird boxes, log piles, and “amphibian hibernacula”.

Planning officers at Milton Keynes Council last week confirmed their decision to grant approval to the principle of development and to the details of a new roundabout off Groveway, and opposite Walton Drive. The application was decided by officers using power delegated to them.

Background documents say a new four-arm roundabout is needed to replace the junction to the site because of the amount of traffic that uses Groveway.

Other details, such as the design of 108 houses and 66 apartments, and what the new community event space will look like, are matters that will be dealt with at a later stage.