NEWS CHANNEL
Published: 17/02/2010 00:00 -
Updated: 23/02/2010 13:35
A radical rethink of Milton Keynes' future is under way.
Forty years after the Master Plan set out the vision for the new city, council leader Sam Crooks is asking residents to outline the future for the next 40 years.
(media 1979) Changes in technology, demography and population - and the need to avoid blandness - are forcing the formulation of the 'MK2050' plan.
Cllr Crooks said the priority is to avoid becoming as bland as the colour magnolia and wants to make the same 'imaginative leap' that the planners did four decades ago.
"We've got to find a way of renewing ourselves. I do believe we have the capacity to say something's no longer fit for purpose.
We can't bury our city in aspic just because that's the way someone planned it in 1970."
Technological advances will pose questions as to the future of retail, for example.
"My kids don't think they will be shopping in 30 years time. So what are we going to do with a huge shopping centre? Will the shopping centre still be around in 2050?"
The need for a plan, to which residents can contribute online, is also driven by the shifting demographic.
Although this is currently a very young city, by 2031, 36 per cent of the population will be over 50.
More than half of newcomers to the city are black and minority ethnic.
There are also going to be more people living alone.
"We have to be prepared to put to one side or change the original plan where it's not working.
"Milton Keynes is very suburban, lowdensity. The houses are nicely spread out with three bedroom family homes, which was exactly right for the time.
"But now we're more prepared to live closer to each other, prepared to live higher. People are getting married older and women outliving husbands for longer, so there ismore single living.
"This is borne out by the number of houses in multiple occupation - family homes shared by singles."
"The extent of growth needs to be addressed - do residents want their city to be bigger than Bristol? - throwing up options such as infilling on estates or building beyond the motorway.
"The city also needs to look at the future of its transport system, as well as the high reliance on jobs in light industry."
The options will be debated at a series of events over the coming months and the consultation, at w w w. m i l t o n - k e y n e s .gov.uk/mk2050, ends in July.
Forty years after the Master Plan set out the vision for the new city, council leader Sam Crooks is asking residents to outline the future for the next 40 years.
(media 1979) Changes in technology, demography and population - and the need to avoid blandness - are forcing the formulation of the 'MK2050' plan.
Cllr Crooks said the priority is to avoid becoming as bland as the colour magnolia and wants to make the same 'imaginative leap' that the planners did four decades ago.
"We've got to find a way of renewing ourselves. I do believe we have the capacity to say something's no longer fit for purpose.
We can't bury our city in aspic just because that's the way someone planned it in 1970."
Technological advances will pose questions as to the future of retail, for example.
"My kids don't think they will be shopping in 30 years time. So what are we going to do with a huge shopping centre? Will the shopping centre still be around in 2050?"
The need for a plan, to which residents can contribute online, is also driven by the shifting demographic.
Although this is currently a very young city, by 2031, 36 per cent of the population will be over 50.
More than half of newcomers to the city are black and minority ethnic.
There are also going to be more people living alone.
"We have to be prepared to put to one side or change the original plan where it's not working.
"Milton Keynes is very suburban, lowdensity. The houses are nicely spread out with three bedroom family homes, which was exactly right for the time.
"But now we're more prepared to live closer to each other, prepared to live higher. People are getting married older and women outliving husbands for longer, so there ismore single living.
"This is borne out by the number of houses in multiple occupation - family homes shared by singles."
"The extent of growth needs to be addressed - do residents want their city to be bigger than Bristol? - throwing up options such as infilling on estates or building beyond the motorway.
"The city also needs to look at the future of its transport system, as well as the high reliance on jobs in light industry."
The options will be debated at a series of events over the coming months and the consultation, at w w w. m i l t o n - k e y n e s .gov.uk/mk2050, ends in July.
