The deal, which has taken nearly two years to finalise, will see the partnership also regenerate key areas in Milton Keynes that are in the greatest need over a 15-year period.
Under the deal, which has been estimated to be worth over £375m, Mears will work with communities to develop regeneration plans in seven key areas under the banner RegenerationMK.
Lakes Estate is one of seven priority areas where housing is set to be demolished and replaced with market and social homes
These priority areas are Beanhill, North Bradville, Coffee Hall, Fullers Slade, Lakes Estate, Netherfield and Tinkers Bridge.
RegenerationMK Partnership
Proposed timetable
January to March 2016: Set up time for the RegenerationMK Partnership.
April 2016: RegenerationMK Partnership will start to deliver Repairs and Maintenance service to all our council homes.
Winter 2016/Spring 2017: An evaluation of the condition of all council homes will be completed. The first area(s) where housing regeneration will start will be shared.
2017- 2018: First Area(s) – The RegenerationMK Parternship will engage and work with the community for at least a year to develop the regeneration plan for their area together.
2018 – 19: Regeneration work begins on first area(s)
2018 – 2019: Second Area(s) – The RegenerationMK Parternship will engage and work with the community for at least a year to develop the regeneration plan for their area together.
2019 – 2020: Regeneration work starts on second area(s)
2019 – 2020: Third Area(s) – The RegenerationMK Parternship will engage and worr with the community for at least a year to develop the regeneration plan for their area together.
2020 – 2021: Regeneration work starts on third area(s)
2020 – 2021: Fourth Area(s) – The RegenerationMK Parternship will engage and work with the community for at least a year to develop the regeneration plan for their area together.
Milton Keynes Council is using between £70m – £75m from its ‘rent money’ Housing Revenue Account for RegenerationMK.
Mears will top this up from new house building on current open spaces within the estates. Such homes would be a mixture of social and private housing.
Alan Long, Executive Director for Mears, said: “One of our key commitments is to maximise opportunities for local people, who will benefit from a variety of employment and training programmes, in both trades and support services, which will be created throughout the project.”
He added that Mears’ vision was to make a positive difference to the people they serve, through a range of community-led regeneration programmes across the UK.
