Today (23/01) marks the birthday of the largest town in Buckinghamshire.
On the 23rd of January 1967, the then Government Housing Minister, Anthony Greenwood, officially announced his ambitious plans to create a new town in South Central England. This decision was made in order to tackle the housing congestion in London, due to the ever-growing population in the capital in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The town was set to be the largest to date, with a projected target population of a quarter of a million and a designated area of around 22,000 acres (89km2).
The site to be developed mostly consisted largely of farmland and some old undeveloped villages near Bletchley, some of these dated as far back as the 10th century. It was actually one of these small towns that provided the name “Milton Keynes” as it already existed in the area.
The Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was vital in the construction process of the town. Unlike many previous towns, the development was mostly privately funded but the MKDC managed to create some of the most iconic buildings in the history of British design.
One of the key founding architects in the MKDC, who helped to shape Milton Keynes into the town it is today, passed away only a few days ago on the 8th of January 2021. You can read more about Kenneth Baker and his legacy by clicking here.
Fast forward to today, and Milton Keynes only continues to grow and is now home to over 230,000 people and counting.
The Milton Keynes Council have recently set out their plans for expanding the town ever further, as they aim for Milton Keynes to be host to half a million people in the next 30 years. If you are interested to learn more about the exciting future of Milton Keynes, you can read these plans by clicking here.
