As previously reported in our Spring Newsletter, MK is one of the 101 places eligible to bid up to £25m as part of the Government’s Towns Fund. MK Council is focusing the Town Deal on Bletchley and Fenny Stratford.
The Town Deal is a really exciting opportunity to bring millions of pounds-worth of funding to the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford area, which could be transformational in improving local transport connections, access to skills and training and the quality of the town centres, making them more attractive to both businesses and residents
Following an inaugural meeting in January, a Town Deal Board was set up in July, bringing together people from local businesses, education and lots of other organisations who want to capitalise on the ground-breaking opportunities that Bletchley and Fenny Stratford have to offer. The role of the Town Board is to work with local people and businesses in the area to create a plan for investing the £25m of government funding. Angie Ravn-Aagaard, BPARA Chair, represents COBRA (Consortium of Bletchley Residents Associations), which includes BPARA, on the Board.
On 1 July, the Government offered additional funding of £1m, to be used in this financial year, to encourage projects that will support towns in responding to immediate challenges, including:
- Improvements to or new park and green spaces and sustainable transport links.
- Improvements to town centres including re-purposing empty commercial premises.
- Demolition or site remediation where this will have an immediate benefit.
In response, BPARA submitted a proposal to establish an information centre readily accessible to the public and, possibly, potential investors to provide information and receive feedback regarding existing and future activities. For instance, MK College – the Bletchley Campus, the proposed Institute of Technology, East/West Rail, and the Central Bletchley Urban Design Framework/SPD (which includes the Sherwood Drive/Buckingham Road area).
The site might also be used on occasion by services such as Thames Valley Police, NHS or other public or private organisations. Ideally, the location should be in Central Bletchley in a property currently not in use, or a temporary building erected in Stanier Square. Other possible locations, but not as central, could be the disused Fire Station, the about to be vacated Police Station or Wilton Hall.
Although this proposal was not included as part of the £1m funding bid, it will be considered as part of the Town Investment Plan for £25m. The Board decided to submit the following proposals for the £1m funding:
- Work to prepare the former Fire Station site for re-development/re-purposing
- Provision of new redways or improved pedestrian/cycle routes:
- From the Lakes Estate to the Blue Lagoon
- From Newton Leys to the Blue Lagoon
- Adjacent to the Blue Lagoon, with links to proposed future redway link between the Lakes Estate/Newton Leys and Central Bletchley
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