Milton Keynes is an economic powerhouse and one of the fastest growing areas in the UK both in terms of population and jobs.

Since we adopted our last local plan, Milton Keynes has officially become a city and our economy has now grown to be larger than that of Cardiff, at over £16bn GDP. One in three jobs in the city are now in tech or in a related sector.

We’ve helped to deliver vital infrastructure to serve local people such as the multi-million-pound Cancer and Radiotherapy Centre at MK University Hospital, the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network, and more than ten new schools in the last 10 years. 

The city faces challenges and opportunities that the MK City Plan 2050 must address:

Population

By 2050, our population is set to grow by at least a third, between 384,000 to 410,000 people, and 41% of that increase will come from people aged 65+. 

Economy

From 2012 to 2022, the number of jobs in the city increased by 19.7% to 194,000, and jobs growth is forecast to continue. Around 500,000sqm of additional office floorspace will be required by 2050, mostly in the city centre to accommodate a predicted 29,600 new jobs there. Additional land will also be needed elsewhere for warehousing and logistics. 

Transport

Around 17% of households in Milton Keynes do not have access to a car, and this rises in areas of greater social deprivation. Our plan considers how to connect people to essential facilities easily. It also sets out requirements for a new mass rapid transit system, a faster and more convenient form of public transport, with stations located close to communities. It also protects our unique grid roads and redways.

Health

We predict 16,700 additional households will have health problems likely to affect their housing needs. Our plan sets out policies to create homes that are accessible and adaptable to changing needs. Although overall health and life expectancy in Milton Keynes is broadly in line with England as a whole, there are marked health inequalities within the city, for example women living in Woughton live for 18 fewer years in good health than women living in Olney. Our plan will help address this through better control of land uses that can have negative impacts on our health, create new learning and employment opportunities, make living a more active life easier, and ensure infrastructure supports new communities. 

Facilities and leisure

Our model of provision for community facilities is out of date and new facilities must reflect what residents want. There are gaps in the provision of sporting facilities and how they accommodate different groups and needs. Our new MK Infrastructure Strategy will help us address gaps like these. 

Housing

Through previous local plans, neighbourhood plans and planning permissions, close to 29,000 new homes are due to come forward by 2050. The MK City Plan 2050 will seek to allocate land for up to 34,000 additional new homes, with a focus on existing urban areas. We are facing considerable housing pressures in MK, with many families living in temporary accommodation. Our plan looks to maximise the number of new affordable homes we secure from development to help families have their own affordable home.

Climate change

We declared a climate emergency in 2019. Our plan will set requirements that help reduce carbon emissions in the future, protect and expand green spaces, protect homes from flooding, and make walking, cycling and wheeling the preferred choice for getting about for more people.

The MK City Plan 2050 aims to create the right conditions to make the Milton Keynes Strategy for 2050 a reality. 

This Strategy, which was adopted in 2021 after extensive engagement with local people and businesses, has seven ambitions:

• Strengthen those qualities that make Milton Keynes SPECIAL.
• Make Milton Keynes a LEADING GREEN AND CULTURAL CITY by global standards.
• Ensure everyone has their own DECENT HOME to rent or buy.
• Build safe communities that support HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
• PROVIDE JOBS FOR EVERYONE by supporting our businesses and attracting new ones.
• Offer better opportunities for everyone TO LEARN and develop their skills.
• Make it EASIER FOR EVERYONE to travel on foot, by bike and with better public transport.

In support of these ambitions, key proposals in the Plan include:

• Infrastructure First - no growth without the health facilities, schools, shops and community facilities the city needs.
• Delivering economic growth - planning for high quality jobs and a skilled workforce that meets the needs of our businesses.
• More Affordable Homes - a requirement for house builders to deliver a minimum 40% affordable housing in new developments on previously undeveloped sites.
• Protect our villages - no new allocations around Olney, north of Newport Pagnell and other villages across our rural area.
• Using brownfield land - regenerate and reuse previously used sites to deliver as many new homes as possible.
• A thriving city centre - with a mix of housing, retail, businesses, a new undergraduate university and events arena.
• Sensitive renewal of Central Bletchley that benefits the much-improved transport links for the town.
• More sustainable transport - maintaining our unique grid roads while developing a new Mass Rapid Transit system.
• Improve, replace and repurpose the city’s stock of commercial floorspace.
• New high quality green spaces - creating new country parks, play areas and recreational green space – whilst maintaining and enhancing our existing spaces.
• Tackling climate change - ensuring sustainable construction and energy efficient homes, introducing ambitious standards for water efficiency and reuse.  Innovative policies to support an increase in urban food production.
• Communities where residents can meet most of their daily needs – such as for schools, shops, everyday health facilities - within a short walk, cycle, wheel or scoot of their homes.
• Balanced growth - a variety of different sites to ensure properly phased delivery.
• Protecting the defining character of Milton Keynes, which is ‘Better by Design’, and the separate identity of our numerous rural settlements.

Central Milton Keynes is at the heart of our plans for the city. The MK City Plan 2050 will help us create the future of the city centre, including:

• Encouraging different parts of the city centre to focus on different types of mixed-use development, including a tech quarter as a home for innovation and higher education.
• Respecting the look and feel of Central Milton Keynes while supporting some taller buildings along the central spine, encouraging more activity on the street. Considering alternative uses for some areas of car parking.
• 11,000 homes, helping to create a thriving, mixed community of around 35,000 residents across Central Milton Keynes and Campbell Park.
• More retail, leisure, cultural and community facilities including an events venue for up to 6,000 people, an undergraduate university and a justice quarter with a new Crown Court.
• Making it much easier to move around without the use of a car, including a ‘Greenway’ on Midsummer Boulevard and a green bridge making access to Campbell Park much more attractive.