Development of the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor is critical to city’s future growth, says Milton Keynes South MP Iain Stewart. A golden opportunity that we must not squander
I have high hopes for the future success of Milton Keynes over the next half century, building on the remarkable achievements of the last 50 years. That, however, can only be realised if we properly plan for the future.
During and since the last general election, I have called for a strategic vision to be developed. I was delighted when the MK Futures 2050 Commission was set up and that their conclusions fit neatly with the interim conclusions of the National Infrastructure Commission, which the government
commissioned in the 2016 Budget to examine the potential for growth in the Oxford-MK-Cambridge Corridor. I strongly believe that our future economic development will be centred on us being a hub in the middle of that arc. Making sure we produce the right type and scale of housing growth in the context of that arc is a must. Continuously adding housing developments to the periphery of Milton Keynes is not necessarily the answer.
I do not believe there is an
appetite for enormous housing developments in the greenfield areas surrounding Milton Keynes that would start to compromise the open spaces and environmental benefits of our existing design. Rather than urban sprawl, we should have a network of smaller developments proportionate and sympathetic to existing settlements that can be properly connected via intelligent infrastructure. Whatever the future style of expansion, co-operation with neighbouring authorities will be necessary. Rather than replicating the devolution models being set up elsewhere in the country, we should be innovating a bespoke model through which local authorities along the arc can sensibly co- operate. Perhaps we should also consider a new delivery body drawing on the experiences of the defunct Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Critically, there is a need to
develop infrastructure along the arc. I am delighted that the 2016 autumn Statement delivered additional funds for the east-West
Rail Link and for scoping the Oxford-Cambridge expressway. however, the arc must be at the
forefront of installing the very latest communications technologies, such as 5G mobile communications. Most significantly, it will need to include the potential transformative effect of smart mobility technology and wider smart cities technology. Milton Keynes is already pioneering such work. Such technology will facilitate a better network of smaller developments across the arc that will command far more popular support than ever greater urban sprawl. By developing that infrastructure and placing us at the fulcrum of the arc, Milton
Keynes will be ideally placed to develop a globally competitive knowledge-based economy of scale. One of the Futures 2050 Commission’s most exciting recommendations is the creation of a Milton Keynes Institute of Technology. This would complement existing higher and further education institutions and provide a pool of world-class skills from which local companies can draw as the economy develops. It would be particularly well placed to be the centre for the intelligent mobility education needed to create a qualified workforce and to allow the UK to gain the lion’s share of the intelligent mobility market, which is forecast to reach £900 billion by 2025. The key to our future success is strategic long-term planning. The Milton Keynes Futures 2050 Commission report and the work of the National Infrastructure Commission represents a golden opportunity to develop a successful and bright future built on knowledge, design and under- standing. Let us not squander it.
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