Agora Redevelopment

May 2023

Please read the latest update from TOWN. in Issue 140 of our community magazine

December 2021 

MKC Planning Department have today given the go ahead for the plans submitted by TOWN. to redevelop the site of the Agora and its adjacent car park to provide 115 new homes, which will include a dedicated cohousing site, nine ground floor commercial and community units, along with the reinstatement of Radcliffe Street between Church Street and Buckingham Street and The Square. The development will also include associated areas of hard and soft landscaping, car and cycle parking. This is called the Love Wolverton development.

August 2021

MKC DCC voted in favour of the redevelopment of the Agora site. The 'final' decision came down to the casting vote of the Chair of the Committee, despite concerns raised about the parking issues posed. Please read this document for more information.

Retail Units

There will be eight new retail units to let as part of the development, some of which are still available. Any interested applicants should contact Punch Retail or TOWN. via guy@wearetown.co.uk or via Punch's website.

Railway Works Redevelopment

Statement re Wolverton Works - Issued on behalf of Gemini Rail Group and St. Modwen 25 March 2018

Gemini Rail Group has undertaken an extensive review of its Operations at the Wolverton Railway Works and currently the Management team is part way through a Transformation programme to enable the business to move towards a more sustainable position within the next 2 years. As part of this programme the management team has spent considerable time in evaluating the changing market conditions in the UK Rail service sector, primarily to give the owners and the Local team a level of confidence as to the type and extent of business the Works will undertake in the coming years. It is clear from this that there is a sustainable business volume that would support a future redevelopment of the site and that the volume of work, although of a differing type, is expected to be of a consistent level to underpin the Works longevity and support the investment required for site redevelopment. Gemini Rail Group have therefore commenced discussions with St. Modwen about the redevelopment of the site to provide a new facility for the business.

Gemini Rail Group are also aware of the local interest in Wolverton Railway Works regarding its future and an understanding of Gemini's intentions. Gemini are now working on a strategy to engage with the local community and will be issuing invitations to meet with stakeholders in the near future. These discussions will include the potential to house the War Memorial remembering the individuals that worked at the Wolverton Railway Works who lost their lives in WW1.
St. Modwen supports the intentions of Gemini Rail Group with regard to the War Memorial and is pleased to be engaged in discussions which will hopefully result in the delivery of new rail-related buildings for them, maintaining the historic use on this important site. This will then pave the way for the new housing development and public realm on the rest of the site. St. Modwen looks forward to working with the local community as it develops the plans for Gemini and the rest of the site through the Reserved Matters planning process.

 

Stratford Road Railway Works Development Site Planning Application number 15/02030/OUTIES

Judicial Review Update - Railway Works loses Appeal - 31.07.18
WGTC have been informed by Historic England of the High Court's decision following their appeal against the development of the Wolverton Railway works.
"The High Court has declined to quash the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the almost complete demolition of the railway works...The judge considered that the (MK) Council was, in law, entitled to come to the conclusion that the future use of one part of the site for railway-related employment and the replacement of the rest for housing outweighed the retention of the unlisted buildings for the contribution they make to the character of Wolverton."

 

Regeneration of Wolverton Works

2017. First Phase of £100m Regeneration of Wolverton Works Begins

St. Modwen to start construction on new Lidl store in Wolverton.

St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, will commence the first phase of its £100m regeneration of Wolverton Works in early July, with the construction of a new Lidl store on Stratford Road. The new store, to be built on vacant land to the east of the site, is due to open in Spring 2018 and will create up to 40 new jobs.

Gary Morris, Senior Development Manager for St. Modwen’s Northern Home Counties Regional Office comments: “Having received planning permission for the new Lidl store last year, we are pleased and excited to be entering the delivery stage for this first phase of our major regeneration proposals for Wolverton Works. We believe that Lidl’s strong brand offering quality and value will add to the choice of retailing available to the Wolverton community.”

Lidl UK’s Regional Head of Property, Jeremy Lee, commented: “There’s been much anticipation for this new Lidl store and it’s great that St. Modwen is now in a position to break the ground and start the build. We are extremely grateful for all the support that we have received so far, and look forward to offering our fresh, quality, great value products to Wolverton residents in the not too distant future.”

Planning

In respect of the regeneration of the whole of Wolverton Works, Milton Keynes Council’s planning committee voted to grant outline planning consent in November 2016, subject to completion of legal agreements. Once these agreements are completed and the consent issued, the next stage will be the preparation of further planning applications to determine the exact designs of the new buildings. No buildings can be demolished until plans for replacement buildings have been presented, consulted upon and approved.

The Lidl store is being delivered under a separate, detailed planning consent which was granted in September 2016.

Phasing

The development will be delivered in phases to allow Knorr-Bremse, the current operator of the Works site, to continue to operate seamlessly without any interruption to their business activities. In broad terms, following completion of the first phase (Lidl store), phase two will see the delivery of new premises for Knorr-Bremse with the third and final phase being the construction of new homes, the community/ heritage centre and public spaces.

Key features of the regeneration plans

· Jobs: Provision of new business space for Knorr-Bremse RailServices Ltd, protected for future rail-related employment use only

· Supporting small businesses: New business space providing premises for small/ medium size businesses and start-ups

· Homes for all: Up to 375 new homes - a mix for all ages, family sizes, needs and pockets

· Funding for social infrastructure: contribution of c.£4m towards vital services of which £3m is allocated to education

· Heritage value: Opening up what is currently a closed site, existing buildings’ facade retention and heritage features incorporated throughout public spaces

· New community space: The potential to create a railway heritage centre – St. Modwen is discussing opportunities with Milton Keynes Museum

· New open spaces: Provision of a new public square and multiple landscaped spaces equivalent, in total, to the size of two football pitches

· Architectural identity: Use of a ‘Design Guide’ to ensure new buildings reflect the Conservation Area with pitched roofs, use of brick, terraced housing and other key features

· Ecology: Enhanced nature conservation and biodiversity where there is currently concrete across the site

· War memorial: Publicly accessible space allocated for a memorial

· Grand Union Canal: New public footpath running parallel to the canal