Milton Keynes could be the focus of 370,000 new homes in a massive development plan drawn up by government-backed consultants
Housing minister Jeff Rooker has endorsed the independent study from Roger Tym & Partners.

It says as many as 300,000 jobs and 370,00 homes could be provided in an area covering the Bedfordshire town of Milton Keynes and some of the southern Midlands.

Bill Brisbane, study director and managing partner at RTP, said the study's findings already formed part of the East of England regional planning guidance, published last Friday, and will be included in the East Midlands' guidance early next year.

He said these two and the South-east, which does not publish its regional planning guidance until 2004, could agree a subregional planning strategy by summer 2004 to allow the development to proceed.

"A fundamental of that programme must be affordable and key worker housing sorted out on a five year basis with the Housing Corporation involved in the funding," he said.

But the project will hinge on a £8.3bn government investment in transport infrastructure. Without this, "nothing can be done", Brisbane said.

Source

Housing Today