Milton Keynes City Council has signed a new agreement with major developers and landowners to strengthen the city's national role as a provider of homes, infrastructure, jobs and well-planned communities.
The Memorandum of Understanding marks a commitment to work together following the recommendation of the New Towns Task Force that Milton Keynes form part of the UK’s next generation of new towns.
By presenting a united voice, the Milton Keynes New Town Partnership aims to secure investment, improve infrastructure and create growth that benefits residents and businesses across Milton Keynes.
Milton Keynes has become one of the country’s most dynamic and fastest growing cities, home to major national employers, a thriving tech and digital sector, and a long history of innovation. The city continues to attract talent and investment, building on the forward thinking ideas that shaped it from the start. This new partnership is designed to help Milton Keynes build on its success to ensure future growth is well-planned, sustainable and improves opportunities for local people.
The agreement brings the City Council together with Berkeley, the Bristol Society of Merchant Venturers, Gallagher, Hallam Land, Milton Keynes Development Partnership, Taylor Wimpey and Urban&Civic. Together, these developers and landowners control land for around 40,000 new homes and the infrastructure that will support them, helping to create the strong, vibrant communities of the future.
The partners will align plans to make future development work harder for the city, including supporting high quality and sustainable regeneration in the city centre and strengthening local skills and supply chains.
The group will also promote Milton Keynes on major national platforms, including a coordinated presence at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum. Early work will include engaging with government, preparing a coordinated presence at UKREiiF, and developing joint initiatives with local colleges and training providers to support skills and employment.
“Milton Keynes has always been a place of huge ambition, and this agreement reflects our shared commitment to the city’s future," said Leader of MK City Council, Cllr Pete Marland, "Well-planned growth is what helps our city thrive and creates modern facilities everyone can benefit from. We’ll focus on what matters most, including new homes, the right infrastructure, good jobs, and opportunities for local people, so we continue to grow with confidence and purpose.”
Nicola Sawford, Chair of Milton Keynes Development Partnership said: "Milton Keynes has always been a place that thinks big, and this agreement shares a common purpose to deliver new homes, create jobs, and build communities people are proud to call home that goes beyond any individual partner. It’s a real chance to make a difference for local people and the city’s future as part of a New Town for Milton Keynes.”
Chief Executive of Urban&Civic and Chairman of Centre for Cities, Nigel Hugill added: “The success of Milton Keynes is without UK equal over recent decades. Pursuing growth whilst all the while staying local. Maintaining common purpose and communal ambition.
"The New Towns initiative provides encouragement and direction on which to reflect and then go again. Today's agreement is a clear response that represents our collective determination to work together through that process of reset. The next chapter of advance for this most extraordinary City stands ready to be written.”
