The information below is taken from an email issued by Milton Keynes City Council.
Town Deal Project Updates:
Innovation Hub: The innovation hub project will provide innovation focused commercial space for start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The business case for this project was approved in 2023 and the programme team are now working to procure a suitable and ambitious operator for the hub. This procurement process will conclude in Summer 2023, when we can start moving towards creating technical designs for the scheme. These will be part of the wider scheme being developed on the former Police and Fire Station site, adjacent to the railway station.
Revolving Development Fund: This fund will help facilitate the acquisition and re-use of key strategic sites around the area that are key to delivering essential improvements in the area. Funding from this project has recently enabled the team to acquire the vacant Sainsbury’s site adjacent to the Brunel Centre. The team are now working on a development brief which will explore the opportunity to provide new housing, employment and retail opportunities for the town. The fund will continue to identify development opportunities across the town.
Transport Hub: The Transport Hub will explore opportunities for upgrading Bletchley train station and providing enhanced connectivity to and from the town centre. This project has received match-funding from Network Rail, who are delivery partners in this scheme, and seeks to capitalise on Bletchley’s central position on the East-West Rail route. The programme team are exploring feasibility of proposals to help inform design options. The preferred design options are to be presented to the Town Deal Board in Summer 2023, before public engagement gets underway.
Public Realm Improvements: This project will provide improved public realm along the main commercial streets, Queensway and Aylesbury Street. The programme team are currently creating a masterplan for these sites and testing options for what this project can deliver. The main part of this project will be delivered in 2025 as it is dependent on other schemes in the town deal programme concluding first, however, the team are exploring opportunities for smaller interventions to improve public realm in the interim. This includes removal of tree stumps and improvements to signage / wayfinding.
Redway: The Towns Deal is contributing funding to deliver the Blue Lagoon Scheme Redways route. Detail designs of this route are now complete. The presence of protected species has delayed the start-date for construction, however, mitigation actions have been employed to relocate these species and construction is expected to start in Summer 2023.
Tech Park: Tech Park is part of the South Central Institute of Technology (see below) and is about providing the delivery of hardware and equipment to support digital skills development for the town, helping to upskill residents and students. This equipment investment will happen over the summer and be ready to launch in Autumn 2023, welcoming schools, community groups, local business and residents.
Transformation at Bletchley Park: This project will help renovate facilities at Bletchley Park to provide a new dedicated learning facility, with accessible classrooms and a high specification learning facility. Construction for this facility is underway and expected to be complete in Summer 2023.
Fibre Connectivity: This project will provide fibre connectivity to areas which have not been previously connected through commercial rollouts. The current scope of the project is dependent on what areas are to be covered under the UK Governments Project Gigabit, which seeks to extend connectivity across the UK. Once we know the results of this coverage, then we can begin to explore what premises we can cover under our proposal. We are expecting further information on this in Summer 2023.
Active Marketing of Vacant Sites: We are proactively working with local businesses to promote Bletchley and support the development and growth of the local economy. Several business engagement events have been held. Through engagement with local businesses, the programme team have identified upcoming priorities to improve the public realm in Bletchley & Fenny Stratford by removing old tree stumps, improve wayfinding to local toilets and explore opportunities to do a deep clean of the high-streets. These works are expected to commence in Summer 2023.
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Other News:
The East West Rail Company (EWR)
EWR published their promised Route Update Report at the end of May. Locally, among the significant changes now proposed are that there should be three trains per hour between Bletchley and Bedford (two originating in Oxford) rather than four or five, that the line speed should be lower than the 100mph originally proposed but still above the current 60mph, and that as a result of these changes the railway crossings at Fenny Stratford, should be retained. A number of consultation events are being undertaken by EWR along the route of the line to explain the new proposals concluding in July and, hopefully, one will be held in Bletchley.
For more information visit East West Rail’s website – https://eastwestrail.co.uk/
New Walking and Cycling Route
Milton Keynes City Council has successfully secured £1.2m to create a new walking and cycling route connecting Newton Leys to the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve in Bletchley. Funding for the new route has been secured through the Government’s Active Travel Fund.
The route is part of wider walking and cycling improvements that are being delivered under the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Towns Deal which will see major investment and renewal in the area. The new route is expected to open in 2024 and will create a more direct connection to Bletchley and open up access to the nature reserve for local people. Construction of another route connecting the Blue Lagoon to the wider Bletchley area is already underway.
The South Central Institute of Technology
The South Central Institute of Technology (SCIOT) held a launch event on 22 June 2023. The SCIOT based on the junction of Sherwood Drive and Selwyn Grove, close to Bletchley train station, have been undergoing substantive works, included a refurbishment and extension of the Andrew Peck building. These works have now concluded and will provide high quality learning environments, offering students higher level technical qualifications for a new generation of digital visionaries. For more information visit: https://southcentraliot.ac.uk/
