Milton Keynes City Council
Milton Keynes City Council | ||
---|---|---|
Chief Executive | Michael Bracey since 26 October 2018 | |
Structure | ||
Seats | 57 councillors | |
Political groups |
| |
Elections | ||
Last election | 4 May 2023 | |
Next election | 2024 | |
Meeting place | ||
Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East, Milton Keynes, MK9 3EJ | ||
Website | ||
milton-keynes |
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[2] and encompasses a substantial rural component, is divided into 19 wards, electing 57 councillors.
History
The 'Milton Keynes District' was created on 1 April 1974 under the
It was envisaged through the
The borough gained city status on 15 August 2022. Milton Keynes Council therefore changed its name to Milton Keynes City Council, and amended its logo to emphasise the new status.
Powers and functions
The local council derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Milton Keynes is within a
Political control
The first election to the district council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[6][7]
Non-metropolitan district
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1976 | |
Conservative | 1976–1982 | |
No overall control | 1982–1990 | |
Labour | 1990–1992 | |
No overall control | 1992–1996 | |
Labour | 1996–1997 |
Unitary authority
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1997–2000 | |
No overall control | 2000–2002 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2002–2006 | |
No overall control | 2006–present |
The council has been under no overall control since 2006. From May 2014 to May 2021, the Labour Party held office as a
Leadership
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Milton Keynes. Political leadership is instead provided by the
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Norman Miles | Labour | 23 May 2000 | 22 May 2002 | |
Isobel Wilson (called Isobel McCall after 2005) | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2002 | 19 May 2009 | |
Sam Crooks | Liberal Democrats | 19 May 2009 | 25 May 2010 | |
Cec Tallack | Liberal Democrats | 25 May 2010 | 24 May 2011 | |
Andrew Geary | Conservative | 24 May 2011 | 11 Jun 2014 | |
Peter Marland | Labour | 11 Jun 2014 |
Composition
Following the
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 27 | |
Liberal Democrats | 16 | |
Conservative | 14 | |
Total | 57 |
The next election is due to be held in 2024.
Technology facilitation
In recent years, the council has promoted the city as a test-bed for experimental urban technologies. The most well-known of these is the Starship Technologies' (largely) autonomous delivery robots: Milton Keynes provided its world-first urban deployment of these units. By November 2020, said Starship, Milton Keynes had the 'world's largest autonomous robot fleet'[14] Other projects include the LUTZ Pathfinder pod, an autonomous (self-driving) vehicle built by the Transport Systems Catapult. Trials took place in Milton Keynes in 2016.[15][16]
Logos
Milton Keynes City Council has had two logos:
The first logo was the oak leaf which was used since the 1990s.
The second logo is more colourful than the previous version, and consists of the two letters M and K, representing Milton Keynes. The 'M' is coloured in azure and 'K' is coloured in green: this is the logo that is currently in use, with a recent revision to change the font and text accompanying it to mark Milton Keynes' city status.
Premises
The headquarters of the council, including the council chamber, is the Civic Offices building at 1 Saxon Gate East in
Controversies
Blakelands Warehouse
In May 2017, the City Council approved plans to build an 18m (59ft)-high warehouse in Blakelands, with the warehouse (which was constructed in 2018) being criticised by local residents as "oppressive", and there were concerns about planning malpractice, including the lack of a noise barrier and the retention of trees and hedges.[19] In February 2019, the Council commissioned external planning expert Marc Dorfman to review the decision, although the report was not complete due to Dorfman's resignation later that year. Following this, the Council appointed independent barrister Tim Straker to carry out an independent report, with the report (published in 2021) finding that while planning conditions were missed as a result of "human error", there was "no untoward conduct."[20]
References
- ^ "CMIS > Councillors". milton-keynes.cmis.uk.com.
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ISBN 0117508470.
- ^ "The Buckinghamshire (Borough of Milton Keynes) (Structural Change) Order 1995". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
(2) A new county shall be constituted comprising the area of Milton Keynes and shall be named the county of Milton Keynes.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Milton Keynes". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ Norford, Olga (19 November 2021). "Progressive Alliance in Milton Keynes celebrates six months of putting people before politics" (Press release) – via Milton Keynes Citizen.
- ^ "Council minutes". Milton Keynes Council. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Milton Keynes election result". BBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Murrer, Sally (15 June 2023). "Conservative councillor makes shock switch to Labour, saying he 'can no longer look constituents in the eye' in Milton Keynes Keynes". Milton Keynes Citizen.
- ^ Holmes, Amy (26 June 2023). "Second Milton Keynes Tory member defects to Labour". BBC News.
- ^ "Newport Pagnell South: Lib Dems take Tory council seat". BBC News. 22 September 2023.
- ^ "Milton Keynes now has 'world's largest autonomous robot fleet' as Starship expand further". Starship Technologies (Press release). Retrieved 6 November 2020 – via MKFM.
- ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca (11 February 2015). "This is the Lutz pod, the UK's first driverless car". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ Davies, Rob (11 October 2016). "Self-driving car tested for first time in UK in Milton Keynes". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Civic Offices Milton Keynes Council". Race Cottam Associates. 2018.
- ^ Historic England. ""Secklow Hundred mound: a moot at the junction of North Row and North Ninth Street" (1007940)". National Heritage List for England.
- ^ "Milton Keynes warehouse planning decision 'bona fide'". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Milton Keynes warehouse: Blakelands planning conditions were missed as a result of "human error"". BBC News. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Milton Keynes City Council on Twitter