New town plan involving 40,000 new homes in Milton Keynes is slammed as 'worst fear' disaster

Earlier this week the government confirmed Milton Keynes was one of seven locations earmarked for an official New Town — a plan that will impose up to 40,000 additional homes on the city, on top of the 60,000 already in the Local Plan.

Reacting to the news, Cllr Shazna Muzammil, Conservative Group Leader, said: "It seems like the government is prepared to bulldoze through the wishes of residents, seize land by compulsory purchase, and force development on communities in the north of our city — all without meaningful local consent.”

She added: “It is also likely that the new town project will be overseen by a Development Corporation, taking the decision-making and development powers out of local people’s hands and instead entrusting them to unelected figures.

"Milton Keynes has always grown and always will — calling this out is not nimbyism. But there is a world of difference between planned, properly funded growth and tens of thousands of homes being forced upon us while our potholes go unfixed. Our roads are already falling apart, our infrastructure is under enormous strain, and yet Keir Starmer's Government wants to dump tens of thousands of new homes on us while refusing to guarantee the investment needed to support them.

Earlier this year, Labour and the Lib Dems on Milton Keynes City Council passed a motion actively welcoming the New Town plan, saying it would provide much-needed homes, boost the local economy and improve infrastructure.

But opposition Conservatives are far from happy and accuse the two parties of “handing the city to Whitehall on a platter."

Cllr Muzammil said: “Since this announcement, residents have already been reaching out to our local councillors directly, worried about what this means for their farms, their land, and their livelihoods. We are committed to standing alongside our residents and fighting for them every step of the way. Families who have farmed this land for generations — growing wheat and barley, rearing beef cattle and sheep, running dairy herds — deserve better.

The Government's public consultation about the New Town runs until 19 May and you can have your say here.

The plan is to build on MK’s history as one of the original new towns, to take forward the ‘renewed town’ vision to expand the city by around 40,000 homes and reinvigorate the centre with a new local transport system, boosting connectivity in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor

Politicians promise all the towns will be designed for modern, everyday life, with neighbourhoods that people can easily get around without a car, shared green spaces and vibrant high streets.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said this week: “People want real change – homes they can afford, local infrastructure that works, and good jobs in thriving communities.

“Our next generation of new towns marks a turning point in how we build for the future.

“From the ground up, we’re planning whole communities with homes, jobs, transport links, and green spaces designed together — so we can give families the security and opportunities they deserve.”