Milton Keynes is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and it’s crucial that we expand to accommodate the new businesses, organisations and families that choose to base themselves here. Milton Keynes City Council is set housebuilding targets by central government each year to support this growth, and I’m thrilled that we’ve exceeded this target for the fifth consecutive year.
We have built over 3,000 homes in the past year alone, building 175% of the Government’s target of 1,766 homes. It is vital that we provide affordable housing for families, especially at a time of soaring mortgage interest, so almost 500 of these homes are classed as affordable (including social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing).
In the past five years, we have built over 11,000 homes and we will continue to lead the way in high-quality housebuilding. These numbers are encouraging and a testament to the great city that we are. It’s also critical that we hit these targets as it protects our city from speculative developments and helps us deliver much-needed family homes. However, we do need to see a higher number of affordable homes being built, which we will continue to encourage and enforce.
The City Council will also make sure that infrastructure, such as schools and medical facilities, are a key part of future developments to support both new and existing communities. The area of Whitehouse is a prime example of this; once complete, it will have over 4,000 new homes along with green open spaces and play areas. Watling Academy and Whitehouse Primary schools have already been built, with Watling Primary due to open in September. The state-of-the-art Whitehouse Health Centre, in which the City Council has invested over £12m so far, opened its doors in 2021. The services provided from the centre will be able to support up to 22,000 patients, benefiting not just the residents of Whitehouse but the wider community too. The City Council provides funding for infrastructure projects and also collects funding from developers. Last year alone, we secured over £70m from developers for these projects.
In Milton Keynes, we are determined to ensure that communities are able to make the most of their new surroundings by putting in necessary infrastructure first. I look forward to continuing our work to deliver sustainable growth in our city where everyone has a fair opportunity to do well.
Find out more at www.milton-keynes.gov.uk
