The Birth of Milton Keynes 1: Decision

Description

The announcement of a new town for North Bucks in 1967 was an important step for the area, and for the country. Traditionally, this was a farming area, serviced by small towns and villages, and, measured against the south of the county, was under-populated.
There was much discussion and argu-ment in the years preceding the announcement, and the concept changed from a new town between Wolverton and Bletchley, with a high population density, to a more wide-spread development over a huge area of 25,000 acres. The final decision incor-porated Wolverton and Bletchley into the boundaries of the new town, although it left out Newport Pagnell.
Milton Keynes, at the time a small village with a total population of 159, was to be the designated name of the new town. A total population for the new town was projected to be 250,000, a target which has now been achieved.