1. COUNCIL IN CONTEXT

Origins and Growth of Milton Keynes

The of Milton Keynes covers 30,869 hectares, one-third of which is the designated area of the city where most of the population resides. Some 20 per cent of the population live in the area outside the city which includes the towns of , Olney and , together with a number of villages, all of which have their own identity and character.

In 1967 the government announced that a new city would be built halfway between London and Birmingham. The new city of Milton Keynes was planned and built in a “designated area” of poor quality agricultural land that included the existing towns of , , and and thirt een villages.

Map of MK

Ever since the designation of the new city in 1967, the population has grown at an incredible rate making the borough one of the fastest growing areas in the country. The last 30 years have seen an increase from 60,000 people to an estimated total of 209,762 (August 2001). This growth has brought constant development - new roads, new housing, new community facilities, new business and new jobs – and it places increasing demands on the local infrastructure.

Today Milton Keynes is acknowledged as having come of age. The council achieved unitary status in 1997 and since then has been responsible for all local government services in the borough area. People visit here from all over the world to see how a thriving, high quality city can be built. There are many success stories in Milton Keynes but the phenomenal growth also poses very significant challenges which can be summarised as follows:

· Milton Keynes is distinct from any other UK city or new town in the scale and pace of its continuing development. · The government’s system of grants to councils is based on figures two or more years behind Milton Keynes’ population growth. This means the council provides services for more than 6,000 people each year without receiving government grants towards the costs. · The infrastructure of Milton Keynes has unique features that are not recognised by the government grant system, such as extensive landscaping and the traffic-free redways.

Milton Keynes continues to develop as a regional centre. Its rising profile has been reflected in the success of major new facilities that have opened in recent years - the new theatre and art gallery together with “X-scape”, a major new leisure facility that includes an indoor real- snow ski slope. The enlargement of the existing shopping centre in 2000 further enhanced its position and a major new development of is planned. All this combines with the continued development of new homes to attract more people to Milton Keynes. In a study published in 2002 Milton Keynes came out top of the UK employment league table, with the number of people employed in the borough having risen by 36,100 over the past ten years which represents an annual increase of 3.5%.

Future Growth in Milton Keynes

In September 2002 the government published a study on the future expansion of Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas. The study proposed that an additional 60,000 to 70,000 houses should be built in the Milton Keynes area over the next 30 years although not all of this growth is to fall within the borough’s boundaries. This represents a further significant development for Milton Keynes with the current population possibly rising to as high as 340,000 by 2030. The council, alongside key partners, has been working hard to ensure that any such expansion should be accompanied by the appropriate developments in the local infrastructure. These include:

· Developing key services such as health, education and police to grow in parallel with the population · Ensuring an adequate supply of broadly priced housing · Developing a transport system which can provide a realistic alternative to the car · Building on the city’s green credentials.

The Parish Structure Within the Borough

Since April 2001, there have been parish councils covering the entire area of the borough and there are now 351 seats on parish councils in Milton Keynes. The council believes that community needs can best be met by working in partnership with parish and town councils and the new arrangements mean that the benefits of closer working can be realised across the borough. The council is currently reviewing its relationship with parish and town councils with a view to making further improvements. This review will be completed in September 2003.

The Political Make-up of the Council

Council policies are debated and set by 51 elected councillors, each representing a specific area of Milton Keynes known as a "ward". Details of who councillors are, how to contact them, and dates and times of meetings are available from the Civic Offices, tel 01908 691691. The current make-up of the council's 51 councillors is as follows:

Seats Held

Liberal Democrat 27 Labour 16 Conservative 7 Independent Conservative 1

New Political Structures

Since September 2001 the council has been operating a constitution operating on a leader and cabinet model. The new arrangements provide for decisions to be made by:

· The council, which makes decisions on the budget and major policy documents · The cabinet, which proposes decisions on the implementation of council policy that come into effect after a 10 day “calling in” period · The regulatory committees such as Development Control, and Licensing and Regulation, which act in a quasi-judicial capacity.

The full council meets approximately every month.

The cabinet is drawn from the Liberal Democrat Party and comprises the Leader of the Council and seven other councillors. Each member of the cabinet is responsible for a particular portfolio of council services. The cabinet meets about every two weeks. A scheme of delegation has been introduced to enable individual cabinet members to propose decisions which will be implemented at the conclusion of a “calling in” period.

Members of the council who are not on the cabinet may sit on overview committees, which are responsible for holding the cabinet and senior officers to account and for contributing to the development and review of council policies. There are four overview committees covering all of the services of the council:

· Environment, Transport and Localities · Housing, Social Affairs and Health · Learning, Community and Economic Development · Treasury.

The overview committees meet at least once every three months. Their political balance is in proportion to the seats held by the various political groups on the council as a whole. They may also include a number of co-opted members who have expertise in the areas being dealt with by the committees. These members contribute to the deliberations of the committee but do not have the right to vote.

A body known as the business management group is responsible for managing the processes under which the decision-making system now operates and for keeping the constitution under review.

A review of the council’s constitutional arrangements is currently underway and changes will be implemented during 2003.

Details of council meetings and agendas can be found at www.mkweb.co.uk