Is Milton Keynes swallowing up Bedfordshire?

People in Central Bedfordshire say they fear being swallowed up by the expanding city of Milton Keynes.

Plans have been put forward for a development of up to 3,500 houses which crosses the border between the city and Bedfordshire.

Residents say their way of life is under threat; however, the government says more homes are needed to deal with "an acute housing crisis" in England.

So is the famous new town planning to swallow up parts of a neighbouring county?

The story of Milton Keynes has been one of expansion since it was first designated as a new town in 1967.

The northern boundary of the designated area set by the government was the M1 motorway.

In 1971, work started on 453 houses with contracts in place for another 543.

By 1977, there were 14,246 homes, and when the Development Corporation was wound up in 1992, there were 44,000.

In fact, Milton Keynes has built more houses than it expected to in the last few years, but the government needs more houses to be built... and faster.

The government announced in March that Milton Keynes would become a "renewed new town" with another 40,000 homes by 2029, on top of the 132,000 the city already has.

Crucially, the M1 border has already been breached by the MK East expansion, which will eventually bring more than 4,000 new homes and 99 acres (40 hectares) of employment space and community facilities.

The idea of expansion continuing beyond the county border is highlighted in the proposed Milton Keynes City Plan 2050, which says the city is hoping to "explore opportunities for cross-boundary growth with Central Bedfordshire".

In January, a plan was submitted by Hallam Land for Keepers Place, a housing development on the eastern side of the M1, near the Bedfordshire villages of Cranfield, Marston Moretaine and Salford.

It includes 2,750 properties in Milton Keynes and 750 in central Bedfordshire, within an area already designated as the East Strategic Urban Extension.

Keepers Place came as no surprise to Sue Clark, a Conservative councillor who represents Cranfield and Marston Moretaine.

She said: "Milton Keynes has made no secret of its desire to grow.

"Milton Keynes is an urban cityscape and central Bedfordshire is a rural area with market towns, and I think the people who came to live in Central Beds in Salford and Cranfield and similar villages chose to live in a village community, not to be gobbled up as part of an urban environment."

People who have been living in Bedfordshire for many years say they were given the impression that the new town would not cross the M1.

Penny Holton, from the village of Salford, said: "I always thought that Milton Keynes expansion would remain south of the motorway.

"This development is north of the motorway, and the worry then is that the village will lose its character - there's a great community spirit in this village, and I love it here."

Derek Stokes also lives in Salford and is worried about the pressure the development will place on nearby roads, especially as the Universal Studios site takes shape a few miles away.

He also believes Keepers Place will bring "an incredible amount of people - are they sure they can cope with it?".

"You know, hospitals, doctors, dentists," he addded.

Maureen Bennett, who lives in Marston Moretaine, said: "We do need houses for people to live, but I just think that the whole area has been eaten up.

"The countryside is disappearing, wherever you go there are new houses.

"You sometimes think about how things were."

Annie Dupree lives in Marston Moretaine and believes the village could benefit from expansion nearby.

"It's wonderful to have new families and vibrancy", she said, "but there's always the question of whether there'll be the infrastructure in place to enable those people to feel that they're welcome."

The residents' opposition to expansion is being taken to the council chamber by their local councillors.

A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council said: "Central Bedfordshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council have each received a planning application for the part of the development that falls within their respective administrative areas, and each authority will make its own decision through the proper planning process."

A decision is due to be made by both councils by the middle of May, and permission may be granted by one authority and not the other.

But, given the government's pledge to build 1.5 million new houses during this parliament to deal with "an acute housing crisis", and the presumption in favour of suitably-located development, it is likely that permission will be given.

Hallam Land said: "Keepers Place is proposed to provide up to 3,500 new homes, alongside new employment space, public transport infrastructure, and local amenities such as community hubs, new primary schools and a secondary school.

"The site [is] actively promoted in both authorities' respective Local Plans.

"Hallam Land continues to work closely with officers at both councils alongside local community stakeholders to deliver a development which will provide the homes, jobs and infrastructure to benefit future generations."

Like everywhere else, Milton Keynes does have housing targets and, while houses built in central Bedfordshire would not contribute to that area's targets, being able to cross the border makes big developments on their side more possible.

Shanika Mahendran, the council's Labour cabinet member for planning and placemaking, said Keepers Place was "a developer-led proposal - it's not sort of a grand expansion plan of Milton Keynes".

She added: "We're planning to build around 60,000 new homes in our local plan, but the housing crisis is a national one, not just in Milton Keynes.

"Where plans are coming forward that are cross-border, I don't necessarily think that that should be something that stops that housing coming forward."

John English, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Bedfordshire branch, said: "This site is not in [the existing] local plan.

"You don't bring out sites willy-nilly that destroy the plan - you'll be shipping students from one place to another, or you fill up your doctors' surgeries."

He believes the Keepers Place application should be withdrawn until a spatial strategy for the whole Milton Keynes area has been drawn up, otherwise "it will be absolute chaos".

Meanwhile, the people of central Bedfordshire can only watch and wait.

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