ODPM panel finds holes in plan for Milton Keynes growth area

Independent consultants investigating plans for a housing growth area centred around Milton Keynes have criticised the way the proposals were drawn up.

The ODPM-appointed consultants said there had been a “deficit” of community involvement during formulation of the plans to develop up to 70,000 homes in Milton Keynes and the south Midlands by 2021.

But they also recognised that the tight timetable imposed by the government had made full consultation almost impossible.

The original growth plan was devised in July 2003 by the East of England, East Midlands and South-east England regional assemblies.

The ODPM is now deciding whether to back the plans – a decision that will now be informed by the consultants’ findings.

The report also raised concerns over a lack of sustainable development planning, warning that issues such as transport and the environment must not be “forgotten or overridden in the pursuit of growth”.

The ODPM was criticised for not providing enough assurances about funding for transport, affordable housing and social infrastructure.

The report said: “There remains scepticism in some quarters over whether there will be sufficient resources to deliver sustainability.”

Another point of contention was that such resources will be provided to the growth area at the expense of other areas of spending that may have more pressing existing problems, although the report did not give examples of what these areas might be.

Mary Beasley, policy adviser on regional planning in the East Midlands, said: “Overall, we acknowledge the concerns raised over sustainability, but we were not given enough time to carry out the initial planning.”

A spokesperson for the ODPM said it could not comment for legal reasons until the deputy prime minister had seen the report.

His response is due in October.

But the consultants also said the Milton Keynes growth area provided “a viable geographical basis” for the development strategy. They concluded the current housing system in all three regions had failed to deliver, and they approved a plan to build 69,950 homes across the regions in the next 17 years.