Blueprint for 211,000 new homes

The minister wants to see thriving, sustainable communities

The strategy for growth in Milton Keynes and the South Midlands in the next 16 years was launched by the government on Thursday.

The blueprint covers Milton Keynes, Northants and parts of Beds and Bucks under the title the Milton Keynes South Midlands Sub-regional Strategy (SRS).

Between 2005 and 2021 more than 211,000 new homes are planned for the area.

The strategy highlights the need for adequate infrastructure for transport, health and education to support them.

The aim is to build first on brownfield sites but the selection of appropriate land for these communities will be done at a local level.

The strategy proposes concentrating additional high-density housing growth into eight growth towns to avoid wasteful suburban sprawl and tackle housing shortages.

They are Northampton, Luton, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury, Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough.

Major transport schemes proposed to support growth Improvements at Milton Keynes Central and Wolverton Stations (£24m) M1 improvements at junction 14 (£8.4m) A public transport hub for Aylesbury (£11.4m) New station in north west Aylesbury (£5.3m) Cross valley link in Northampton (£9m) Improvements to Sandy Lane, Northampton (£4m) Corby northern bypass (£6m) Improving the B4036 at Daventry (£3m) Long Buckby Station upgrade (£1m) East Luton corridor improvements ( £21.7m) New station at Elstow (£2.5m)

Minister for regeneration and regional development Jeff Rooker said increasing the supply of homes in the area was essential to promote sustainable communities and sustainable growth.

He said: "This is not about the number of houses - it is about creating homes for people, places where they want to work and bring up their families in thriving, decent communities.

"Government is playing its part in supporting these communities with investment in infrastructure."

The 211,200 figure in the SRS is 65,850 more than the 145,340 new homes by 2021 proposed in the Regional Planning Guide.

That breaks down to 45,800 in Bedfordshire and Luton (an additional 7,900), 65,900 (additional 13,450) in Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Vale, 99,500 (additional 44,500) in Northamptonshire.