Lib Dems Oppose Timetable for Development

12.00.00am GMT Fri 20th Jan 2006

Milton Keynes Council's Liberal Democrat administration is taking a firm stand against the ridiculously short timetable that Milton Keynes Partnership (MKP) are working to, to agree in which areas new development should take place in Milton Keynes and how many houses should be built within the Borough. The timetable has, quite rightly, attracted a lot of opposition locally, including from the Council.

Liberal Democrat Council Leader, Isobel McCall, has stated that the Council does not intend to comply with the deadline of April for future housing numbers for Milton Keynes to be submitted to SEERA (South East of England Regional Assembly).

Isobel McCall said: "There is no legal requirement for the Council to submit housing numbers in April, although this is the date that MKP has been working to. We feel that it is more important that MKP allows a reasonable length of time for full consideration of all the public responses, that it does a proper job of assessing the different options, and then allows further full public consultation on more than one option."

The Council had demanded that MKP extend the initial public consultation beyond 12 January, as had many other local people and organisations. As that did not happen, the Liberal Democrat administration has turned its attention to how to slow down the rest of the process to allow proper time to reach a decision.

"Fortunately it is the Council, and not MKP, that will eventually have to send housing numbers to SEERA, so the Council can decide when to submit them," explained Councillor McCall. "Now that the heat is off the timetable, as a result of our decision to delay, we are asking MKP to take more time looking at the options. As there was very little information on which the public could come to a sensible view about the initial options, we think that Milton Keynes Partnership should do further work on two or three options which may include new ones, provide more information for people to base their views on, and consult fully again. There is a real danger that support for growth in Milton Keynes will melt away if local people do not have time to fully consider the long-term implications of different options. Decisions taken in haste could easily prove to be the wrong decisions that we will all live to regret."