It has been confirmed that residents being moved out of the two doomed tower blocks will remain in Milton Keynes.
In October 2020, it was announced that Mellish Court in Bletchley and The Gables in Wolverton, both 60-year-old buildings, do not meet current fire safety standards.
Since then, Milton Keynes Council has introduced 24-hour fire safety wardens at both of the sites. Residents have also been given the opportunity to move into another council-owned property if they wish.
Currently, the Council is in consultation with residents about what should happen to these two tower blocks - and the Council has set out two possible options.
The first option, and the one that is favoured by the local authority, is to completely demolish both tower blocks and completely rebuild the structures.
The second is to carry out a total refurbishment, stripping the buildings back to their original structure.
Cllr Pete Marland discussed this with MKFM during a News Special broadcast on Wednesday (24/2).
He said: "The Council's preferred option is demolition and reprovision, which is council speak for knocking it down and rebuilding something new there but that is what is being consulted on."
Cllr Marland says that the Council is in the middle of the consultation and are working to find the best option for residents.
Both options will involve moving residents out of the tower blocks and into a nearby council property whilst the works take place.
There has been speculation as to where these people could be rehomed to, and whether it could be in nearby towns such as Bedford and Luton.
But Cllr Marland says that new homes for council tenants will come from "general council housing stock" and will be as close to the current area as possible, meaning that residents will not be moved out of the city.
Those who are leaseholders are reportedly being offered market value plus 10%.
There are many families living in these tower blocks, so remaining as close as possible means that children can keep their school places.
Cllr Marland added: "A lot has been done to involve residents both in Mellish Court and The Gables with Zoom meetings, and as much as possible, because at the minute we can't have community meetings. Part of that decision will be around the options for the future of those people because some might not want to move back from the property that they have been allocated now and some might, so it is about working with those individuals."
Cllr Marland added that there is a "paper coming forward" regarding the tower blocks. More information and results of the consultation is expected to follow soon.
