Following the budget announcement earlier today (03/03), Bletchley and Fenny Stratford will be receiving more than £20 million as part of the New Towns Deal.
The Towns Fund aims to improve the economic sustainability of towns with a focus on creating jobs, supporting town centres, boosting businesses and connecting people to where they live and work either through local transport or digital connections.
Milton Keynes was announced as one of the 101 places eligible to submit a bid and the council decided to focus its efforts on Bletchley and Fenny Stratford so that they can make the best use of current and future growth prospects, and the opportunities that will flow from East-West Rail.
The proposals put forward by the council include:
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Transport Hub – creation of a new eastern entrance at Bletchley Station, improving access from the town centre
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Tech Park Bletchley – based at MK College, the new skills and training hub will provide better learning and development opportunities to improve life chances
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Town Centre improvements – improvements to the appearance, attractiveness and safety of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford town centres
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New redway links – better connections between Newton Leys and the Lakes Estate to Central Bletchley
Looking ahead to the future of development, Chair of the Towns Deal Board, John Cove, said: “This is exciting news for Bletchley and represents the next step to fully develop the Groundbreaking Bletchley and Fenny Stratford project.
"Work has already begun on developing the many ideas within the plan and we will ensure that local residents and businesses will be kept involved. In the meantime, can I thank everyone who has contributed to this project thus far and is looking to continue their hard work in this next phase."
Leader of MK Council, Cllr Pete Marland expressed his pleasure with the news as he said: “We welcome the announcement which will help us deliver a better and brighter future for Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. While this money is only a starting point it will enable us to begin delivering on our commitments to improve the area and take advantage of the significant growth opportunities here.
"I’d like to thank the community and the board for their work in helping us secure this important funding that will make a lasting difference for local people.”
"Unfortunately the funding was not the full amount we bid for, but we’ve been very clear that this is the start of a real programme of change, and we’ll work beyond that set back."
