Council considers legal challenge to appeal decision on iconic MK landmark

Labour-led Milton Keynes City Council is considering a legal challenge to the recent Planning Inspectorate decision to allow the demolition of the iconic Milton Keynes landmark The Point and replace it with new housing development.

Photo credit: https://flic.kr/p/28qj5G7

The original application was previously refused unanimously by the council’s planning committee due to the failure of the new design to reflect the historic status of the famous red pyramid and concerns over the quality of the new design within the area of the Grade 2 listed Centre:MK shopping centre.

The application also includes no affordable housing and is unlikely to provide any Section 106 financial contribution for infrastructure and community facilities.

Now Cllr Peter Marland, Labour Leader of Milton Keynes City Council, has suggested that the council may launch a legal challenge to the appeal outcome and is reviewing the decision for legal errors.

Cllr Marland has called parts of the decision “irrational,” having contempt for the unique heritage of Milton Keynes as a New Town and diminishing the strong cultural significance of The Point to a generation of people who grew up in the city.

However, the Labour city leader believes that the decision adds weight to the case for CMK to once again be designated a “New Town,” as part of the new Labour government’s plans to build 1.5m homes during this parliament, saying that while Milton Keynes is “pro-housing, pro-development and pro-growth,” it should not be at the expense of quality, affordable housing or the unique heritage of Milton Keynes.

Cllr Marland said:

“The decision by the Planning Inspector to overturn the unanimous decision of the cross-party planning committee is very disappointing. While, on occasion, appeals do succeed and that is the way things are, on this occasion we will be asking for legal advice on if the inspector has made any legal errors in their decision.

“It is hard to understand the legal reasoning behind many of the conclusions the inspector has reached. A number appear to be very irrational. However, I am most annoyed by the fact that the inspector gives almost no consideration to the heritage of culture of Milton Keynes.”

He continued:

“The site of The Point is next to the Grade 2 listed Centre:MK shopping centre and the building itself is locally listed on our New Town Heritage Register. We asked the developer to incorporate the iconic red pyramid frame into the development, but they did not listen.

“In their appeal decision the inspector calls asking for the new building to incorporate this iconic Milton Keynes structure into the new development “tokenised,” which is outrageous and shows a complete disregard for the unique New Town heritage of the city. I doubt if this was a proposal to demolish a cultural landmark near some Regency-era listed buildings we would see the same snobbish attitude. A generation of people, often the first generation to be born in Milton Keynes, grew up with The Point being the symbol of the city, and that is every bit as valid as what the Liver Buildings mean to the people of Liverpool or St Pauls to Londoners. Different, but every bit as valid.

He concluded:

“We understand the current building is no longer fit for purpose and more could be done with the site, but this proposal is terrible in almost every single way. No affordable homes, bad design, identikit flats and dismissive of the cultural importance to the current building to the people of this city.

“Milton Keynes is pro-housing, pro-development, and pro-growth. We have a housing crisis and want to build the homes that local families so desperately need but, it should not be at the expense of quality design, affordable housing, or the unique heritage of Milton Keynes. Favourable appeal decisions on poor quality schemes like this, on behalf of developers who only pay lip service to the local community, only undermine our effort. However, what it does do is clearly demonstrate and strengthen our argument for CMK to again to designated as a New Town so we can properly plan the high quality, affordable homes people need and ensure they are built.

“My only hope is that even the inspector infers this scheme is so financially unviable that it may never be built. I hope that is the case and that something better that values the heritage of the site might come forward in the future if we are not able to legally overturn this appeal decision.”