The Town Council spend a lot of time trying to influence local planning policy  – this is because many areas in CMK and around Campbell Park are not yet built, and proposed developments can have a big impact on local residents. That’s why we’ve spent so much time on the new CMK Alliance Business Neighbourhood Plan, as well as the Midsummer Boulevard East Workshops.  We believe the best way CMK can fulfil its ambitions to be a great city centre is through a balanced approach, promoting growth and development whilst retaining CMK’s competitive advantage as a distinctive place with a high quality of life.

We also spend a lot of time (hundreds of hours as volunteers!) scrutinising planning applications such as Primark and Campbell Square (which we discovered was not providing enough parking spaces!).  Most of the Town Councillors live in the parish or not far from it, so we know the area well, and experience the same problems and share the same concerns as our neighbours.

Decisions to approve or refuse planning applications are made by the Development Control Committee (DCC) at Milton Keynes Council.  The Town Council are statutory consultees on all planning applications within CMK, so our research, analysis and submitted ‘representations’ are carefully considered by DCC.  The views of individual residents also matter a great deal, so we actively encourage residents via leaflets, newsletters and our website to submit their views to DCC.