Villagers object to 500 new homes on their doorstep in Milton Keynes

Furious residents in Little Brickhill say they are “shocked and dismayed” that MK Council could approve plans to build 500 houses in open countryside near their village.

More than 120 residents plus two local ward councillors, Woburn Sands Town Council and Little Brickhill and Bow Brickhill Parish Councils have all objected to the plan.

They say the Levante Gate site is not allocated for development in the Local Plan and contravenes policies.

Paul Simpson, Chairman of Brickhill Residents Against Inappropriate Development (BRAID) said: “Milton Keynes has enough housing land in the pipeline to last for the coming five years, so there is absolutely no justification for permitting this vandalism of the open countryside.”

He added: “Little Brickhill is a tight knit community which has existed for over 2000 years. If approved, the development would put an inordinate amount of strain on the infrastructure of the village and surrounding area and undermine the unique character of our historic community.”

Danesborough and Walton ward councillor, David Hopkins said: “Levante Gate is the wrong application, at the wrong site – at the wrong time.

“The proposals are contrary to the Milton Keynes Core Strategy and emerging Local Plan and will set a dangerous precedent for development in the open countryside around Milton Keynes.”

Mr Hopkins added: “Any future residents of this isolated community will feel truly separated -

physically and psychologically - from the remainder of Milton Keynes and the surrounding villages.”

Concerns have also been raised about the impact of the development on the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway project. The Levante Gate site lies within the corridor of this proposed dual carriageway and Highways England has recommended that the application be deferred until at least August this

year, when the route of the new road will have been decided.

Planning offices have recommended councillors to approve the application at a meeting on Thursday evening.

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