| Milton Keynes Civic Offices | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2022 | |
| Location | Saxon Gate, Milton Keynes |
| Coordinates | 52°02′36″N0°45′39″W / 52.0434°N 0.7608°W |
| Built | 1979 |
| Architect | Faulkner Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor |
| Architectural style(s) | Modern style |
  Shown in Buckinghamshire | |
Milton Keynes Civic Offices is a municipal building in Saxon Gate, Milton Keynes, a city in Buckinghamshire, in England. It accommodates the offices and meeting place of Milton Keynes City Council.
After Milton Keynes was designated as a new town on 23 January 1967, [1] the new Milton Keynes Development Corporation was initially based at Wavendon Tower in Wavendon. [2] Following local government re-organisation in 1974, [3] the new Milton Keynes Borough Council initially operated out of the offices of the five councils it had replaced, although it relocated to Sherwood House (later known as Challenge House) in Bletchley in late 1974. [4] [5]
The new borough council decided to commission dedicated civic offices. The site it selected was immediately to the southwest of the moot mound (meeting place) of the Anglo-Saxon Sigelai (or Secklow) Hundred, which dates back at least to the 13th century. [6] [7] [8] The new building was designed by Faulkner Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor in the modern style, built in yellow brick and glass, and was completed in 1979. [9] [10] [11]
In June 2018, the borough council announced that the local register office would relocate from Bracknell House in Aylesbury Street (a villa dating from 1845) to the civic offices, with the result that that most weddings and civil partnership ceremonies would also be held at the civic offices. [12] [13] [14] A major programme of refurbishment works, which included the complete replacement of the air cooling system, was carried out at a cost of £11 million, and completed in 2020. [15] [16] [17]
The three-storey building has a large, square, plan. The main entrance is formed by a porte-cochère on the southwest side. On the upper floors, cantilevered brick balconies run around the entire exterior. The windows are small, to minimise heat loss. When built, the building was surrounded by car parking, and behind it was a large, grassed area, with a water feature. In the centre of the building is a large council chamber. [9] [18]
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).
The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder of Buckinghamshire.
Woughton is a civil parish in south central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The parish council uses the term Community Council.
Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area.
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.
Walton was historically a hamlet and now a district and civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. For local government purposes, it is part of the Danesborough and Walton electoral ward.
Wavendon is a village and civil parish in the south east of the Milton Keynes urban area, in Buckinghamshire, England.
Woburn Sands is a town that straddles the border between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in England, and is part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The larger part of the town is in Woburn Sands civil parish, which is in the City of Milton Keynes, Smaller parts of the town are in the neighbouring parishes of Aspley Guise and Aspley Heath. The meandering boundary between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire means the Lower and Middle Schools that serve all of the town are both in Aspley Guise CP. Bedfordshire Police and Thames Valley Police both deal with law enforcement issues in the town. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish (only) was 2,916, that of the built-up area was 5,959. Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise and Aspley Heath each has its own centre but together the three settlements are a contiguous built-up area.
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.
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council.
Milton Keynes North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2019 United Kingdom general election by Ben Everitt, a Conservative. At that election, it was one of two constituencies covering the City of Milton Keynes unitary authority area.
The Milton Keynes redway system is an over 200 miles network of shared use paths for cyclists and pedestrians in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is generally surfaced with red tarmac, and criss-crosses most of the city.
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.
In January 2004, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the United Kingdom government's Expansion plans for Milton Keynes. However, the change of government in 2010 and the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategy in 2012/13 saw these plans revoked and a planned expansion of up to 44,000 dwellings reduced to 28,000. The Milton Keynes Core Strategy was published in July 2013 and regards the figure of 28,000 new homes to be the minimum figure.
The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, thecentre:mk which opened in 1979, and Midsummer Place opened in 2000. The centre:mk is anchored by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The complex is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, with the size of 120,773 sq metres.
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.
Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority of the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It has both borough status and city status. The borough, which extend beyond the ONS-defined Milton Keynes urban area and encompasses a substantial rural component, is divided into 19 wards, electing 57 councillors.
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.
Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve MK, often via the Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.
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.