City of Milton Keynes | |
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Motto(s): By knowledge, design and understanding | |
![]() City of Milton Keynes, shown within Buckinghamshire and England | |
Coordinates: 52°07′N0°46′W / 52.117°N 0.767°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East |
Ceremonial county | Buckinghamshire |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Unitary authority |
• Governing body | Milton Keynes City Council |
• MPs | Chris Curtis (Lab) (Milton Keynes North) Emily Darlington (Lab) (Milton Keynes Central) Callum Anderson (Lab) Buckingham and Bletchley |
Area | |
• Total | 119 sq mi (309 km2) |
Population (2022) [2] | |
• Total | 292,180 |
• Rank | 52nd |
• Density | 2,450/sq mi (947/km2) |
Postcode | |
Area code | 01908 |
GSS code | E06000042 |
Website | milton-keynes |
The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. [3] It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder of Buckinghamshire. [lower-alpha 1]
The principal built-up area in the borough is the Milton Keynes urban area, which accounts for about 20% of its area and 90% of its population. The borough also includes many rural areas surrounding the Milton Keynes urban area (especially to the north), containing several villages and the town of Olney. At the 2021 census, the population of the unitary authority area was just over 287,000. [4]
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of four former districts and part of a fifth, which were all abolished at the same time: [5]
The new district was named Milton Keynes (after its largest settlement). [6] The district was given borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. [7]
As established in 1974, the borough of Milton Keynes was one of five non-metropolitan districts of Buckinghamshire, with Buckinghamshire County Council providing county-level services to the area. On 1 April 1997, Milton Keynes became a self-governing unitary authority by being redefined as its own non-metropolitan county, independent from Buckinghamshire County Council. [8] Milton Keynes remains part of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire for the purposes of lieutenancy. [9]
On 15 August 2022, letters patent were issued giving the borough the status of a city, allowing the council to change its name to Milton Keynes City Council. [3]
Arising from the local government elections of May 2024, the borough is governed by a Labour administration. The Liberal Democrat party is the main opposition group.
In the 2024 Labour gained 4 seats to become the majority party, having previously been part of a joint Labour-Lib-Dem run administration.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics for 2017, the borough was the highest performing NUTS3 region in the UK outside inner London (which takes the first five places), on the basis of gross value added per head. [10]
Further education in the borough is provided by Milton Keynes College. For higher education, the Open University's headquarters are in Milton Keynes – though, as this is a distance education institution, the only students resident on campus are approximately 200 full-time postgraduates. A campus of the University of Bedfordshire located in Central Milton Keynes, provides conventional undergraduate courses.
Cranfield University is the academic partner in project with Milton Keynes City Council to establish a new university, code-named "MK:U", on a reserved site in the city centre. [11] As of January 2022 [update] , the project is stalled pending assurance of government funding. [12]
At the 2021 census, the population of the borough was 287,060. [4] This was an increase of 15.3% from the 2011 census, when the population of the borough was 248,821. [15] By 2050, the City Council projects that the borough's population will reach 410,000. [16]
At the 2021 census, of residents aged 16 and over, 15.8% had no qualifications, 10.9% had a level 1 qualification, 14.2% had level 2, 4.7% were in apprenticeship, 15.7% had level 3, 35.8% had level 4 and 2.9% had other qualifications.
In the 2021 census, almost 71.8% of the population described their ethnic origin as white, 12.3% as Asian, 9.7% as black, 4% as mixed, and 2% as another ethnic group. [17]
Ethnic Group | Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 [18] | 2001 [19] | 2011 [20] | 2021 [17] | |||||
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
White: Total | 166,101 | 94.2% | 187,852 | 90.7% | 199,094 | 80% | 206,114 | 71.8% |
White: British | – | – | 179,694 | 86.8% | 183,934 | 73.9% | 178,568 | 62.2% |
White: Irish | – | – | 2,918 | 2,498 | 2,382 | 0.8% | ||
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | 72 | 156 | 0.1% | |
White: Roma | 578 | 0.2% | ||||||
White: Other | – | – | 5,240 | 12,590 | 5.1% | 24,430 | 8.5% | |
Asian or Asian British: Total | 5,982 | 3.4% | 9,406 | 4.5% | 22,782 | 9.2% | 35,645 | 12.3% |
Asian or Asian British: Indian | 2,861 | 1.6% | 3,967 | 1.9% | 8,106 | 3.3% | 15,348 | 5.3% |
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 822 | 0.5% | 1,682 | 0.8% | 3,851 | 1.5% | 7163 | 2.5% |
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 694 | 0.4% | 1,072 | 0.5% | 1,989 | 0.8% | 3189 | 1.1% |
Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 667 | 0.4% | 1,835 | 0.9% | 2,722 | 1.1% | 2913 | 1.0% |
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 938 | 0.5% | 850 | 0.4% | 6,114 | 2.5% | 7,032 | 2.4% |
Black or Black British: Total | 2,869 | 1.6% | 4,986 | 2.4% | 17,131 | 6.9% | 27,851 | 9.7% |
Black or Black British: African | 523 | 2,596 | 13,058 | 5.2% | 21,502 | 7.5% | ||
Black or Black British: Caribbean | 1,665 | 1,956 | 2,524 | 2,975 | 1.0% | |||
Black or Black British: Other Black | 681 | 434 | 1,549 | 3,374 | 1.2% | |||
Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | 3,716 | 1.8% | 8,235 | 3.3% | 11,725 | 4% |
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | 1,347 | 2,243 | 2,997 | 1.0% | ||
Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | 477 | 1,597 | 2,551 | 0.9% | ||
Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | 1,037 | 2,228 | 2,973 | 1.0% | ||
Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | 855 | 2,167 | 3,204 | 1.1% | ||
Other: Total | 1,378 | 0.8% | 1,097 | 0.5% | 1,579 | 0.6% | 5,725 | 2% |
Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 565 | 1349 | 0.5% | |
Other: Any other ethnic group | 1,378 | 0.8% | 1,097 | 0.5% | 1,014 | 0.4% | 4376 | 1.5% |
Ethnic minority: Total | 10,229 | 5.8% | 19,205 | 9.3% | 49,727 | 20% | 80,946 | 28% |
Total | 176,330 | 100% | 207,057 | 100% | 248,821 | 100% | 287,060 | 100% |
The following table shows the religion of respondents in recent censuses in the city of Milton Keynes.
Religion | 2001 Census [21] | 2011 Census [22] | 2021 Census [23] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
Christian | 135,715 | 65.54 | 131,352 | 52.79 | 122,935 | 42.83 |
Muslim | 4,843 | 2.34 | 11,913 | 4.79 | 20,484 | 7.14 |
Hindu | 2,596 | 1.25 | 6,918 | 2.78 | 12,911 | 4.50 |
Sikh | 795 | 0.38 | 1,372 | 0.55 | 1,959 | 0.68 |
Buddhist | 747 | 0.36 | 1,246 | 0.50 | 1,404 | 0.49 |
Jewish | 466 | 0.23 | 427 | 0.17 | 383 | 0.13 |
Other religion | 821 | 0.40 | 1,216 | 0.49 | 1,558 | 0.54 |
No religion | 44,633 | 21.56 | 77,939 | 31.32 | 108,953 | 37.95 |
Religion not stated | 16,441 | 7.94 | 16,438 | 6.61 | 16,473 | 5.74 |
Total | 207,057 | 100.00% | 248,821 | 100.00% | 287,060 | 100.00% |
Household tenure breaks down to 60.8% of dwellings owner-occupied, 21% of homes privately rented and 18% are socially rented. [4] Due to the borough's fast-growing population, the City Council plans for a minimum of 26,500 dwellings across the borough over the period between 2016 and 2031, with development primarily focused on city estates, expansion areas and strategic land locations in the south and east of Milton Keynes, Campbell Park (in CMK) and the three "Key Settlements" outside of the 1967 "designated development area" of Milton Keynes: Newport Pagnell, Woburn Sands and Olney. [24]
According to Public Health England, "The health of people in Milton Keynes is generally similar to the England average. About 15.1% (8,680) children live in low income families. Life expectancy for both men and women is similar to the England average." [25]
The urban area accounts for about 20% of the borough by area and 90% by population. This is a partial list of the districts of the Milton Keynes urban area.
The City of Milton Keynes is fully parished. These are the parishes, and the districts they contain, that are now elements of the Milton Keynes built-up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics. [26] [lower-alpha 2]
Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Woburn Sands, Central Milton Keynes, Newport Pagnell, Wolverton and Stony Stratford are towns. The civil parishes are:
The rural area accounts for about 80% of the borough by area and about 10% by population. Olney is a town. These are the extra-urban civil parishes:
As of December 2023 [update] , the borough has 28 designated Neighbourhood Areas, of which 22 have made/adopted Neighbourhood Development Plans approved by the City Council, spanning both urban and rural parishes. [27]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City (from 2022) or Freedom of the Borough (1982–2021).
Milton Keynes is a city in Buckinghamshire, England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of the city, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. In 2011, the two parishes had a combined population of 37,114.
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located in the north-west of the city, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Greenleys civil parish.
North East Milton Keynes was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2010. It elected one member of parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Milton Keynes South West was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county.
New Bradwell is (mainly) an Edwardian era village, modern district and civil parish in north-west Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of Central Milton Keynes. Together with Wolverton, it was built primarily to house the workers on the Wolverton railway works.
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2011 census had a population of 15,313. Together with West Bletchley, it forms the Bletchley built-up area.
Milton Keynes was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1992.
Milton Keynes North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 United Kingdom general election by Chris Curtis for the Labour Party.
Milton Keynes South was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from its 2010 creation until 2024 by Iain Stewart, a Conservative.
Sport in Milton Keynes covers a range of professional and amateur sport in the City of Milton Keynes unitary authority area. In 2019, Milton Keynes was officially designated as a European City of Sport for 2020. There are professional teams in football, in motorsport and in ice hockey. The National Badminton Centre, and the Marshall Milton Keynes Athletic Club train professional and amateur athletes. Most other sports feature at amateur level although there are semi-professional teams in rugby union and football among other sports. There is an international-standard karting track owned by Daytona Motorsport.
This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milton Keynes, founded in 1967, is the largest settlement and only city in Buckinghamshire. At the 2021 census, the population of its urban area was estimated to have exceeded 256,000.
MK Metro was a bus company operating in Milton Keynes from 1997 until 2010.
The Milton Keynes grid road system is a network of predominantly national speed limit, fully landscaped routes that form the top layer of the street hierarchy for both private and public transport in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The system is unique in the United Kingdom for its innovative use of street hierarchy principles: the grid roads run in between districts rather than through them. This arrangement permits higher speed limits due to the absence of buildings close to the roads – although more recently some have been limited in part to 40 mph (64 km/h). The grid road system also serves an important purpose of discouraging through-traffic from travelling through neighbourhoods and thus reduces traffic noise and pollution in pedestrian areas. Motor traffic is segregated from pedestrian and leisure cycling traffic, which uses the alternative Milton Keynes redway system. Almost all grid junctions are roundabouts, and the absence of traffic lights enables free and efficient movement of traffic.
Bletchley Urban District was an urban district covering the town of Bletchley in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1911 to 1974. The district had been created in 1895 as Fenny Stratford Urban District, being renamed to Bletchley Urban District in 1911.
Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority for the City of Milton Keynes, a unitary authority in Buckinghamshire, England. Until 1 April 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district.
(2) A new county shall be constituted comprising the area of Milton Keynes and shall be named the county of Milton Keynes.