Wolverton’s Agora centre
Redevelopment plans for the Agora at Wolverton has won a prestigious award at the Planning Awards 2022.
Milton Keynes Council’s project was named Planning Permission of the Year, with the judges praising how the council has managed the proposals in a 21st-century styled development for a mixed-use regeneration scheme in a sensitive conservation area.
Love Wolverton has been praised for its joint working approach between the council, developer TOWN and Wolverton’s residents and businesses. The scheme includes:
- 86 new rental homes, with 31 per cent being affordable housing;
- A co-housing community for older people with 29 homes for sale and social rent;
- Eight new shops for independent local businesses and a community space;
- Car-free ‘little streets’ and a pocket park for residents and visitors;
- A sustainable mobility hub, which includes an electric car club and bike hire facilities;
- An energy microgrid that generates a large share of the annual energy needs of the development on-site.
Milton Keynes Council bought the Agora site earlier this year following a number of false starts on the project. The council was also awarded a special commendation for policies designed to tackle climate change through its Sustainable Construction Supplementary Planning Document.
