Conservative councillors are demanding that Milton Keynes Council protect the buildings in Station Square from further plans for development.
A controversial plan to turn Station House, the building above the train station, into 250 flats without planning permission under permitted development rights, has raised eyebrows across the city.
But Peter Marland says this is the MK Conservatives showing they say one thing, but do another.
The council leader says, "The recent Housing Deal, blocked by our two Tory MPs and opposed by Conservative councillors, would have contained proposals to end permitted development rights that allow this type of inappropriate developer-led slum housing."
Conservative councillors have called on the council to protect the square from any further applications without proper planning rules and scrutiny, by evoking an Article 4 direction.
Councillors are also angry that despite promises made by Labour-run Milton Keynes Council who had said they would seek extra protection on Station House earlier this year, no progress has been made and it remains at risk of new permitted development applications.
Article 4 was created by the government to enable councils to give extra protection to sites of strategic importance to a specific area and force a developer to seek proper planning permission.
Cllr Amanda Marlow who represents the neighbouring Loughton Ward has made it very clear that she opposes the application saying that “it is an ill-conceived plan, without any consideration for additional parking and it will impact on residents in Loughton with an increase in litter in the Redland Drive park which is nearest the station and illegally parked cars in the Loughton Controlled Parking Zone. Milton Keynes Council must guard against future inappropriate office to residential conversion schemes and I'm angry it hasn't happened already.”
Peter Marland says, "I find it bizarre that Tory councillors are complaining about permitted development rights when their two MPs fully support it, and their government introduced it. They totally own this shambolic and developer-led planning system.
"MK Labour wants the government to scrap the policy that allows developers to dodge standards and create awful inappropriate housing. Our MPs and the Tories have already blocked a deal that would have done that in MK. An Article 4 Direction takes at least 12 months, but the Tories could stop opposing our housing deal tomorrow if they are serious about this issue and proper planned growth for MK.”
