Politicians clash over speed of Milton Keynes estate regeneration project

Plans for the Lakes Estate include new pocket parks, courtyard areas and a brand new redway route linking the heart of the estate to the Blue Lagoon.

While Labour cabinet member Cllr Emily Darlington (Bletchley East) sees it as a sign of political commitment to regeneration of the Lakes Estate, the Tories see it as a cynical distraction ploy to take attention away from a lack of commitment.

Residents at Serpentine Court voted overwhelmingly at the end of 2018 to demolish their homes, but more than two years later there is no sign of the bulldozers moving in.

And at a delegated decisions meeting on Tuesday, Tory leader Cllr Alex Walker (Stantonbury) accused Cllr Darlington, the cabinet member for public realm and housing services, of continuing her predeccessor’s opposition to regeneration “to keep the left wing of the Labour party happy.”

Labour pulled the plug on plans for the wide-scale demolition and replacement of 8,500 homes on seven estates in Milton Keynes in the summer of 2019, which the Tories insist was a mistake. The Lakes Estate regeneration is a legacy of that policy.

“What residents want is what they voted for and they want that to happen to the time-frame that you promised,” said Cllr Walker. He called for Cllr Darlington to commit to the project.

But Cllr Darlington hit back: “You are holding up red herrings – there is nothing to suggest it will not go ahead.”