Labour city leaders welcome opportunity for Milton Keynes to be part of next generation of New Towns

Milton Keynes has been named as a potential location for the next generation of New Towns by a government commission.

The New Town Taskforce was established by the new Labour government last year to find possible locations to help deliver the ambition of an additional 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament.

The Labour Party has a strong history of creating new towns, and Milton Keynes was the last to be established almost 60 years ago, and has since gone on to be the most successful in delivering new homes and becoming the 7th biggest city economy in England.

Now, the New Town Taskforce has identified Milton Keynes as a perfect place carry on building more new homes, with the city looking set to benefit from additional investment to deliver a tram system, more affordable and social homes and extra infrastructure investment.

The city council have been promoting Milton Keynes as an ideal location to build high-quality homes more quickly while other longer-term New Town projects are developed. Plans would see more homes in the city centre and more growth around the suburbs.

Milton Keynes City Council will now work with the  government over the next few months to develop a more developed businesses case before a final decision on the sites will be made.

Labour city leaders have welcomed the plans.

Chris Curtis, Member of Parliament for MK North said:

“I am delighted that the success of Milton Keynes so far has been recognised, and that the New Town Taskforce has identified our city as a prime location the build new affordable homes the next generation of people who grew up here need.

When I was elected I was honest about saying we need to build more homes here. I was born and grew up in Milton Keynes and I am hugely grateful for the opportunities this city has given to me and my family, but it needs to be done with proper levels of investment. We now have the chance to ensure the next phase of our growth is done properly and done well.”

Emily Darlington, Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes Central said:

“Our city centre is already home to some of the most advanced jobs and technology companies in the country, but we also know that we need to carry on attracting that inward investment and supporting local businesses to grow in a vibrant city centre. I’ll be working with the taskforce and council to ensure that our city centre gets the investment it needs to supercharge our economy.”

Callum Anderson, Member of Parliament for Buckingham and Bletchley said:

“The report by the New Town Taskforce is a massive chance to really work with the government to ensure we get the right investment into our area, not only for the fantastic new communities we can develop, but for areas like Bletchley, so everyone can benefit from growth.”

Cllr Pete Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes City Council said:

“The announcement that Milton Keynes could be part of the next generation of new towns is a massive opportunity for our city. We know here that to do growth well, it needs to be done properly. We welcome the change to discuss investment in a new public transport system, more affordable homes and more powers to deliver community infrastructure with the government, and will be working hard to get started as quickly as possible.”