The Lakes Estate, Milton Keynes

The Lakes Estate is located at the southernmost end of Milton Keynes, on the outskirts of Bletchley. It was planned according to the functionalist Radburn system as a 'Town for the Motor Age' and completed in 1975. Less than fifty years after completion the Lakes Estate ranked in the top 10 most deprived areas in England for crime, income and health deprivation according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2015). The urban principles of the Radburn System have contributed to a place that lacks prosperity, pride, or opportunities for healthy and happy lifestyles.

HTA Landscape were appointed as Lead Landscape Architect in 2017 as part of a multi-disciplinary team to develop a landscape-led regeneration strategy for the Lakes Estate. After extensive consultation with residents and various stakeholders the brief was defined to include complete regeneration of the local centre (Serpentine Court), re-design of the existing Warren Park as a new neighbourhood park, four new development sites for re-settlement, and wider improvements to the existing streets, courts and green spaces.

The Vision for the Lakes Estate is to create an environment that supports a happy, healthy, prosperous community that feels safe and proud of their home. An holistic approach to place regeneration was employed that ranges from small-scale resident-led interventions to the complete re-design of a park and local centre, ensuring that all residents of the wider estate will benefit from the regeneration and the impact of the proposals will continue to promote positive change in the decades to come. The key design moves capitalise on the extensive network of open spaces as a tool for physical, social, environmental and economic renewal;

1. Revitalise the local centre

The local centre is an inward looking pedestrianised linear space which turns its back on the surrounding streets and the local economy is in decline. Complete renewal of the local centre includes establishing a new grid of streets with a clear hierarchy, establishing a recognisable local centre and ultimately encouraging inward investment.

2. Organise the movement network

The estate is typified with a separation between people and cars, a dense network of lanes and alleyways. The movement network is re-organised to prioritise key pedestrian and cycle routes, remove redundant alleyways, extend cycle lanes into the wider area, and encourage active sustainable methods of travel. The existing streets are enhanced by the removal of redundant garages to create tree lined walkable streets.

3. Create an active public realm that supports healthy lifestyles

Warren Park is the green spine that sits at the centre of the Lakes Estate and has an important role to play in the renewal of the wider estate. It is underused as it is poorly connected, suffers from short sightlines, lacks diversity and is not clearly programmed. The proposals seek to provide a resilient and biodiverse park with a clear structure and programme to encourage active lifestyles and offer a legacy for the local community that will bring people and nature together. The wider network of green spaces are enhanced and the existing communal courts benefit from resident-selected interventions including opportunities for gardening, outdoor dining, new waste storage and tree planting.

4. Establish a nature recovery network

The estate benefits from a large quantum of open spaces but the biodiversity level is low. The proposals include a site-wide nature recovery network that creates a biophilic landscape resilient to future change.

5. Increase Value, Reduce Costs

The proposals contribute to reducing the long-term maintenance costs of the estate in several ways. One of the key maintenance reductions is by establishing a diverse range of grassland habitats with infrequent mowing regimes to reduce the frequency of maintenance visits, in response to the large quantum of short mown amenity grass across the estate.

HTA helped to guide the client and community through many challenges and were involved in round-table discussions with the local authority on how to streamline the ownership of existing open spaces, who would maintain spaces, the phasing for delivery, detailed cost plans and beginning a dialogue with a local professional skateboarder whom could spearhead the design of the Wheels Park. This has all been carried out during the pre-planning stage to ensure a robust and deliverable proposal that offers maximum value for the local community.