Milton Keynes
Resources
Site visit presentations
Download the presentations
- Download Andrew Armes' presentation (Microsoft Powerpoint, 14MB)
- Download Dr Michael Synott's presentation (Microsoft Powerpoint, 43MB)
Site Q&A
Q: How big are the grids inside/outside of the city centre?
A: In both cases, the grids are 1km square. There are some smaller sub-grids inside the city centre which are 400m square.
Q: Have there ever been any public transport strikes in Milton Keynes?
A: No!
Q: What is the status of Calverton Lane in terms of transport?
A: The current transport status will be downgraded as part of the Europan project.
Q: How well does the current cycling network operate?
A: Only around 3% of journeys are done by bike in Milton Keynes. There is a perception that cycling is dangerous in Milton Keynes, because many of the cycle ways are quite isolated and not very well overlooked. This is because the cycle network was designed for leisure cycling rather than commuter cycling, and consequently the routes tend to meander through parks and do not go in the right direction for people travelling into the city centre.
In terms of the project site, there is an existing cycle ‘red way’ running alongside the proposed City Street, so this could help to improve cycle connections into the centre. A new bus route running east to west is also planned, and there is already quite a good bus route running north to south.
Q: How fixed is the masterplan for the project site and study area?
A: The City Street and the location of the secondary school are fixed, all other elements on the site are flexible. The masterplan is led by natural features such as the existing hedgerows, and the site sponsors are open to suggestions regarding public and private open spaces.
Q: What were the criteria used for demarcating the grey blocks on the masterplan?
A: The grey blocks are just indicative of possible block layouts, based on a standard 90sqm block size. The location of blocks has not been thought through in detail and they should not be seen as fixed in any way. A revised version of the masterplan will be added to the site briefing files, indicating only the fixed components of the plan.
Q: To what extent do Milton Keynes Council foresee the project site forming a new edge to the city?
A: The western edge of the project site marks the furthest point to which development is likely to spread to the west of the city, although there may be further expansion to the south-west.
Q: How large is the study / project site in relation to the overall Western Expansion Area (WEA)? What proportion of the 6,000 proposed new homes will be in the project site?
A: There are not a fixed number of homes planned for the project site, and proposals may also include mixed uses.
Q: What is planned for the site in terms of public transport?
A: The City Street will need to be multi-modal, accommodating a mix of transport functions including bus routes, cars, pedestrians and cyclists. Milton Keynes does not, however, have the required density to support a tram system.
Q: Was Milton Keynes Council involved in the Europan 8 competition site at Bradwell Common?
A: Although the Council had some limited involvement, the previous Europan site in Milton Keynes was not owned by the Council and they did not have any control over the process in that round of the competition. The Bradwell Common site is owned by English Partnerships and they acted as site sponsor for Europan 8.
Q: Who is on the jury? Is the developer for the Milton Keynes site involved?
A: Entrants can find details of the UK Jury on the Europan UK website. The structure of the jury is imposed by the central governing organisation, Europan Europe, and does include developer and client representatives. The specific developers for the UK sites will not be involved until after the judging process is over, but Milton Keynes Council will be appointing developers that share their ideals for the competition site.
Q: How will green open spaces in the project site be maintained?
A: Milton Keynes parks and open spaces are managed by the Parks Trust and Milton Keynes Council. The open spaces in the project site will be under the control of the Parks Trust, so long-term maintenance is assured.
Q: Is there a possibility of combining private amenity / public spaces in the proposed schemes?
A: There are no fixed planning requirements for private open space provision – Milton Keynes planning requirements are more concerned with public open spaces. The brief is also quite open in terms of private open space, although entrants should consider issues of defensible space.
Q: Is the brief for the school project included in the site briefing pack?
A: Yes, the brief for the primary school in the study site is included in the full briefing information.
Q: Does Milton Keynes Council have a clear idea of which hedgerows will remain on the site?
A: Entrants should use the existing natural elements to inform their proposals, but there is no fixed plan of which hedges should be retained – this will depend on the specific ecological conditions in each case.
Q: Are there specific requirements set out in the brief regarding provision of affordable / key worker housing?
A: 30% of new housing must be affordable housing, of which 25% must be affordable housing to rent. Council policy requires ‘pepper potting’ of different types of home across sites.
Q: Are there specific requirements set out in the brief regarding sustainable design?
A: Proposals should meet high EcoHomes standards and, in addition, the Council has a policy of requiring 10% of energy to be produced on-site for new developments.
Q: Why is Milton Keynes choosing to expand to the east and west rather than intensifying existing areas of development?
A: Partly because they can, and party because current residents are resistant to intensification of existing residential areas, even though there are lots of wasted bits of green space around many of the earlier 1960s estates. The Council are intensifying the city centre area instead – this is less problematic because there are not many people living there at the moment, but it will also bring in a better mix of uses to the city centre.
Q: Do the Council expect people to stay in Milton Keynes long-term and move around between different areas?
A: Lots of people do stay, and there are high levels of demographic shifting between different neighbourhoods over time, as people progress from smaller to larger homes. There is a lot of housing in Milton Keynes, and it is one of the most affordable places to buy a home in South East England.
Q: Will the farm just outside the edge of the study site be staying?
A: Yes, the Two Mile Ash farm buildings will be staying, although they will be taken over for community uses. It is envisaged that these buildings could change their use over time, eventually becoming a small business hub.
Q: Will the surrounding farms outside of the WEA edge be staying?
A: Yes, for the foreseeable future.
Q: Is the secondary school indicated in the conceptual plan, and is the conceptual plan included in the briefing pack?
A: The secondary school is clearly marked in purple on the concept plan, which can be found on pp. 22 of the Development Framework in the briefing pack (file ref: mk-uk-c3-pr1.pdf).
Q: Who will be living in the new housing?
A: Not really clear. Milton Keynes Council wants a completely diverse mix of people with a mix of incomes etc, which will require a good variety of housing to be on offer. They also want the new neighbourhood to be self-sustaining ultimately, rather than dependent on central Milton Keynes for its amenities.
Q: How does the Europan site sit within the wider schedule for development of the WEA?
A: The first phase of development will be around the primary school. Once the Europan 9 winner for MK has been announced the development process will not be rushed, and there is no fixed timescale for delivery. It is anticipated that development will commence from 2008/9.
Q: Do the briefing packs include information on the masterplan, landscaping etc?
A: Yes, this is all included in the briefing packs, as well as extracts from the brief for the primary school.
Q: Can entrants visit the competition site independently between now and the deadline for entries?
A: Yes, it is fine for entrants to visit the site independently. The site is publicly accessible via public footpaths, and the buildings at Two Mile Ash Farm are no longer occupied.
Q: Is the sizing of the housing units (as stated in the design brief rules) in beds or bedrooms?
A: Bedrooms
Q: Are there any photos of the hedge in the subject site showing its height and density? Please provide more information on its predominant vegetation, bird and animal species.
A: No photos or further information available on this at present
Q: Within the full site file- Study Site (ss) The MK-UK-C3-pr1 and pr2 docs are downloading as corrupted files. Please can this be rectified asap?
A: These files are downloading correctly now.
Q: Is there an indicative street section for the western most internal street on the project site?
A: No.
Q: I cannot open the file mk-uk-sp6-m1.dxf. The file seems to be corrupt or incomplete. Please can you resupply and send this out those registered?
A: This problem has been rectified and the file has been replaced in the full site briefing files. All registered entrants for Milton Keynes have been informed about this update by email.
Q: Do we need to keep the wildlife corridor? If yes, what is it exactly?
A: Yes, the wildlife corridor needs to be kept. It is relatively continuous, wooded and hedged area for wildlife to inhabit and pass through.
Q: To what level of detail should the school be designed on the Study Site – outline (massing only), indicative internal layouts, or detailed internal layouts?
A: Proposals should show overall massing and how this relates to the wider urban proposals.
Q: Is it known whether the area is prone to flooding (seasonal, longer term – such as 1:200 year flood levels?). Has an environmental survey been carried out – for instance is the site above/near known mine workings?
A: The area is not prone to flooding and there are no known mine works on the site.
Q: What split of homes should be provided for the Project Site – can percentage requirements be given such that site sponsors can see designs which relate to desired sizes of dwellings at this stage?
A: Please refer to pages11-12 of the design brief (file: mk-uk-e9-pr1). Entrants should provide detailed layouts of each type.
Q: Could a target sqm rate be suggested which would be in line with the developer’s and site stakeholder’s aspirations such that financial viability can be checked and ensured at this stage? An indication of the likely sqm rate for this project as an Exemplar Project would be helpful.
A: Don’t worry about costs at this stage, this is primarily an ideas competition.
Q: There is some confusion reading the requirement for apartments on the Project site (p10), which later (p11) is contradicted by the statement of ‘an oversupply of ordinary apartments’. Does this last line on p.11 suggest that in fact no apartments are required as part of the brief, but that maisonettes are? If so, can we assume all reference to apartments should in fact be maisonettes? Please clarify.
A: We are looking for an innovative approach to these issues. Apartments which behave like houses may be an approach.
Q: Is it correct to assume that garage spaces do not count as parking spaces (p.12). Are garages therefore required?
A: Parking bays and car-ports count as parking spaces, but garages with doors do not count. Garages are not necessarily required.
Q: Our experience of Eco-Homes assessments is that they also include factors which are outside of the scope of for instance this design competition – in particular things such as good transport links. As such, we assume it is understood that a number of assumptions will need to be made in order to prepare this assessment?
A: This is aspirational for the overall development. The finished buildings will have to achieve this, but we understand that it is difficult to address all aspects of EcoHomes / Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) within the scenario of the competition. Please note CfSH came in to force as of April 2007 and supersedes EcoHomes.
Other points to consider:
- Parking solutions must be well integrated rather than separate from the housing. Underground parking would not be appropriate.
- Milton Keynes Council would like to see ‘time distinctive’ architecture on the Europan site, which bears a relation to its historical context and incorporates existing natural features into its public realm.