Reaction of Existing Residents and Neighbouring Councils
As might be anticipated, these plans are controversial. Two former staff members of Milton Keynes Development Corporation (an architect/ex County Councilor and a Professor of town planning) have written to the local papers in vehement terms, decrying the poverty of imagination and conventional-town thinking being displayed in the proposals. They argue for an international competition to provide an inspiring vision for the next 25 years. The chairman of local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses remarks "The consultants have picked up a standard report and inserted a few MK references. Nowhere in the document is there an understanding of how Milton Keynes has got to where we are today and why we are successful."
Commenting on the plans, Aylesbury Vale District Council said (8 August 2006) 'Expansion plans for Milton Keynes are "seriously and fundamentally flawed" '. The council’s response criticises the growth plans for:
- Failing to take proper account of public opinion and the concerns and issues raised by earlier public consultation
- Not doing enough to accommodate more housing within Milton Keynes
- Failing to identify a new transport strategy for public transport and other environmentally friendly modes of transport, both for the existing city and the expansion areas
- Not taking proper account of the impact on either the existing communities that will be affected or the local landscape
- Not giving proper consideration to the growth options to the east of the M1 motorway
- Failing to identify defined boundaries to the urban area to provide long-term protection for the countryside around Milton Keynes, particularly those areas adjacent to the planned growth near Newton Longville
Subsequently, Buckinghamshire County Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council commissioned Town Planning consultants Colin Buchanan and Partners to review the expansion proposals. According to Bucks CC, Buchanan found the MKP plans to be flawed in both research and conclusions. The two councils press strongly for any expansion to occur east of the M1 motorway, between Moulsoe and Newport Pagnell.
Read more about this topic: Expansion Plans For Milton Keynes
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