In January 2004, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the United Kingdom government's Expansion plans for Milton Keynes. However, the change of government in 2010 and the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategy (SE Plan) in 2012/13 saw these plans revoked and a planned expansion of up to 44,000 dwellings reduced to 28,000. The Milton Keynes Core Strategy was published in July 2013 and regards the figure of 28,000 new homes to be the minimum figure.
He proposed that the population of Milton Keynes (ceremonially Buckinghamshire) should double in the subsequent 20 years. He appointed English Partnerships to do so, taking planning controls away from Milton Keynes Council and making EP the statutory planning authority. In turn, EP established a subsidiary Milton Keynes Partnership to manage the programme locally. Their proposal for the next phase of expansion moves away from grid squares to large scale, mixed use, higher density developments which are more based on public transport than private car usage.
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes is a purpose-built, 'new city' in South East England. It is located about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham, and approximately midway between Oxford and Cambridge. The "designated area", alongside some of the surrounding towns and villages, forms the unitary authority of the Borough of Milton Keynes. Although legally Milton Keynes is not a city, the term "city" is widely used locally to describe the larger urban area and "town" is used for the pre-existing towns, such as Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Stony Stratford, Wolverton, Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands. This avoids a great deal of ambiguity and confusion, and is the convention used in this article.
Planning control in Milton Keynes
Most development requires planning permission and it the responsibility of the local planning authority to decide if the type of development proposed is acceptable.
In Milton Keynes, from 2004 to 2011 there were two local planning authorities: Milton Keynes Partnership (MKP) and Milton Keynes Council (MKC).
MKP covered the Northern, Western and Eastern Expansion Areas and remaining sites within the existing grid squares of Oxley Park, Tattenhoe Park and Kingsmead. MKP was also the Local Planning Authority for Land adjoining the A421 containing Eagle Farm and Glebe Farm, identified as "strategic reserve" sites. MKC retains planning powers for the remainder of the city and for smaller development within the Expansion Areas.
In June 2004 Milton Keynes Partnership Committee (MKPC), was created by the Government and was a committee of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the national housing and regeneration agency for England. MKPC was created to ensure a co-ordinated approach to planning and delivery of growth and development in the 'new city'.
The partnership brought together Milton Keynes Council, HCA, Local Strategic Partnership representatives from the health, community and business sectors and independent representation. The role of MKPC was to co-ordinate and implement the delivery of growth and ensure that homes, infrastructure, jobs and community facilities were provided as part of a joined up approach.
The day-to-day activities of MKPC were carried out by its staff of management, professional and technical experts, known collectively as Milton Keynes Partnership (MKP).
Milton Keynes Partnership was disbanded in 2011, holding its last meeting in March of that year. Its functions were folded back into the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), with Milton Keynes Council handling planning permission for established areas of the city.
Immediate impact: East and West flanks
The immediate practical impact of the government's plans was its publication on 24 March 2004 of a Statutory Instrument, the Milton Keynes (Urban Area and Planning Functions) Order 2004, SI 2004 No.932, that expanded the designated area to include large greenfield blocks to the west and east of the original area. These blocks are to be developed by 2015 at the latest, substantially so by 2011. These developments are discussed further below.