Place, Planning, Productivity

Radical thinking with business in mind

Our city was built on radical thinking and also conceived with business in mind. So the starting point for Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) and Milton Keynes City Council is to think about how our urban core must evolve. It’s an evolution which must be inspired by the same commitment to innovation that first inspired our city’s founders.

We are asking these key questions: what should Central Milton Keynes provide in property terms to continue to attract new high-growth businesses and cater for existing occupiers? What is the housing, leisure, and cultural offer for a tech worker in the next 10 years? How can a tech innovation cluster be developed and nurtured in a digital smart city? How can the city’s iconic grid be reimagined and maximised for mass urban transit?

Cities like Milton Keynes cannot deliver improved productivity in isolation. Turning the productivity dial will require a package of national policy support and both Westminster and Whitehall to understand the links between place, planning, and productivity.

The economic reality is that the UK does not have the finances to create and deliver another Milton Keynes.

The policy enablers

What policy changes and Government support would help? Investment in transport networks between cities, and support from the public purse for new urban mass transit within them, remains critical to boosting productivity.

Changes to housing density in cities could be part of long-awaited planning reforms and help to deliver housing growth and make better use of land. The UK’s preference for low-density housing has contributed to people having long commutes – a factor stifling productivity. Higher density housing would help expand the labor talent pool in cities.

In Milton Keynes, the economic benefits of higher density housing could also help to support our investment in mass urban transit – a key piece of infrastructure for high-performing, productive cities.

However, higher density should not always mean tall buildings. Our city is unusual in having space and capacity to grow, so this type of urban form is not necessary. Policy changes to support ‘medium’ or ‘gentle’ density to help deliver more mid-rise buildings of up to ten storeys like those found in many European cities would make a real difference and deliver more human-scale places.

Invest in what we have

In the run-up to the General Election, new towns have been identified by Labour as key to delivering housing growth, but it’s important that policy commitments can drive urban renewal in our existing cities and towns too.

The economic reality is that the UK does not have the finances to create and deliver another Milton Keynes. Productivity will be boosted with people living closer to work and new town settlements will not achieve this. Nor can new towns be delivered quickly, so the focus should be on unlocking the opportunities that exist in our great cities. The key is that policy, urban planning, and placemaking have a strategic focus on boosting productivity, too.

Guest Contributor

Adam Sciberras

Placemaking Director, Milton Keynes Development Partnership

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Mike Derbyshire

Partner, Head of Planning

Mike leads Bidwells’ planning practice. He is a passionate and vastly experienced advocate for thoughtful, well-designed development and a thought leader on the future of planning in England.

The Productivity Engine

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