Local News

The Aqua Parcs Easter Bunny puts smiles on patient and staff faces on the Children’s Ward at the Milton Keynes Hospital. To celebrate their return to Milton Keynes this summer and to spread some much-needed Easter joy, the Aqua Parcs team, along with the Easter bunny of course, headed to the Milton Keynes Hospital last week to hand out 75 Easter eggs to both patients and staff on the hospitals' Children’s Ward. Entrepreneur and one of the brains behind Aqua Parcs MK, Kieron Murty said, “Spring is one of my favourite times of the year and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to spread some Easter cheer! It was a privilege to meet the amazing staff and patients on the Children’s Ward at Milton Keynes Hospital and we hope they enjoy their eggs this Easter.” The Aqua Parcs MK team are gearing up for another busy summer as they..

Taking place on Saturday 13th July at Willen Lake, the Legion is calling on friends and family members to accept the muddy mission and work together to walk, jog and crawl round its two-mile course packed with muddy obstacles. Kicking off at 10.00am on the day, the Mission Mud recruits will take on mud slides and mud pits with music, food and exciting activities waiting at the finish line. Claire Rowcliffe, Director of Fundraising at The Royal British Legion, comments: “This is our second Mission Mud event in Milton Keynes and we challenge families across the region to step up to the starting line, show their support for our Armed Forces community, and help make the event a success.” “The Royal British Legion is such an important part of community here in Milton Keynes and Mission Mud is a fantastic way to bring friends and families together with the charity..

A coffee-ground-breaking initiative is being launched at intu Milton Keynes this week that will see coffee shop waste turned into compost. Green-fingered gardeners are in luck as the centre starts offering free bags of coffee ‘waste’ for use as a natural garden fertiliser. From this week, shoppers will be able to pick up bags of used coffee grounds from the Coffee Cart on the mall and take them home to boost plant growth in their garden. intu Milton Keynes has introduced the initiative as part of its ongoing commitment to recycling within the centre and reducing its carbon footprint. Coffee waste will be collected daily from the centre’s retailers including, Starbucks, Pret and the Waterstones Café, then bagged, labelled and displayed on the Coffee Cart located on the mall. Coffee grounds are a natural, long-term way to enrich soil and speed up the composting process, using waste that would otherwise..

Willen Hospice is calling on Tesco shoppers to support its involvement in the ‘Bags of Help’ community grant scheme, running across stores until the end of April 2019. The Hospice applied for the funding to provide transport for its patients to and from the Wellbeing Centre each week. Tesco customers now have the opportunity to vote for Willen Hospice to receive funding, by placing a blue token into the voting box each time they shop. Bags of Help is run in partnership with the environmental charity Groundwork, and sees grants awarded to thousands of local community projects every year. Sarah Sweet-Rowley, Associate Director of Community Development said “We’re very grateful for this opportunity. Itgives our local community a simple but effective way to support our charity, without having to spend anything extra. All they need to do is place their token in the slot marked ‘Willen Hospice’. “It will mean..

CityFibre puts gigabit-speed connectivity within reach of thousands of MK homes  Over 20,000 homes across Milton Keynes are now able to access full fibre broadband – one year on from the start of the city-wide expansion of the digital network. As part of CityFibre’s ‘fibre to the premises’ project, the network has doubled to over 350km since March 2018. Through a strategic partnership with Vodafone, CityFibre has built in Bancroft, Blue Bridge, Bradville, Great Linford, Willen, Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, and will be accelerating across the city to build to almost every home and business. CityFibre has made the build possible through a private investment of more than £40m. In addition to building the full fibre network – which is expected to complete by the end of 2020 – CityFibre has opened a new state-of-the-art office in Milton Keynes and intends to bring its Engineering Centre of Excellence to the..

Mark Lancaster, MP for Milton Keynes North, has welcomed news the Government has provided Milton Keynes Council with an extra £360,000 to help end homelessness in the city. The new investment announced by Communities Minister James Brokenshire is aimed at getting rough sleepers into safe accommodation, including night shelters and hostel spaces. This funding includes £34 million for the 83 Rough Sleeping Areas and an additional £12 million for other areas of the country as part of the government’s commitment to tackling the issue and ending homelessness. The investment, totalling £46 million, will go towards over 1,400 new emergency bed spaces, over 700 new long-term beds and more than 500 new temporary spaces. Mark recently met with Housing Minister Heather Wheeler who praised the efforts of Milton Keynes in tackling homelessness in the city. As part of efforts to better support the city’s rough sleepers, a YMCA building project will..

intu Milton Keynes is launching a new partnership with the MK Food Bank, which begins during the charity’s Big Little Give campaign that starts from Monday 25 March. The shopping centre will help raise money through ongoing initiatives throughout the year and has set an astonishing target of £42,000 and 3,000 food items. At any time, shoppers will be able to donate their spare change by spinning coins down the shoots of the vortex machine, located near the much-loved ‘Frog Clock’. Shoppers are also being encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations to the customer information desk next to Debenhams and Five Guys. The Food Bank is currently low on tinned items such as vegetables, fruit, meat, spaghetti, rice pudding and soup, as well as dried rice. Each week, all donated food will be collected by volunteers from the Food Bank ready to be distributed to those in crisis. From Monday..

Mark Davies from Milton Keynes is taking on this year’s London Marathon to raise money for leading cancer charity, Penny Brohn UK. Mark, who has never run a competitive race further than 5k, decided to run the London Marathon for Penny Brohn UK in memory of his friend, Abby Webb, who was supported by the charity when she was diagnosed with an aggressive lung cancer. To help raise sponsorship, Mark is organising an event with Buckingham Ladies Hockey club on the 23 March when he plans to run from his old hockey club in Milton Keynes to Buckingham Ladies Clubhouse, which is roughly 19 miles. People will be able to place bets on when he will arrive through the door and Mark will be available via live feed during his run to take requests to speed up or slow down. Abby played for the hockey club and many of her..

Works are well underway at Crest Nicholson’s Campbell Wharf site in Milton Keynes, where the newly completed marina is beginning to come to life, marking the latest milestone for this impressive development. Campbell Wharf marina was filled with an estimated 25,000 cubic metres of water from the Grand Union Canal over twenty days in January. This followed extensive preparation works, including the installation of 500 metres of sheet piles ranging from 7m to 12m deep. Sheet piles are used to create an underground ‘wall’ in order to retain soil or water. The marina will now be closed for a couple of months, until checks are complete as part of what is called the ‘stilling process’. The marina is due to open at the end of April 2019 and when complete, will boast a high standard of finish to the 111 berths, together with a contemporary facilities building offering a range..

Willen Lake, Milton Keynes’ most popular park, is gearing up for the start of the new leisure season by creating up to 100 jobs, suitable for adults of all ages and abilities, and launching a selection of new activities. With Willen Lake offering such a wide variety of attractions both on and off the water, employees are needed for roles covering everything from wakeboarding supervisors, watersports instructors and Treetop Extreme instructors, to lakeside assistants, boat hire staff and cleaners. Those keen to apply for any of the positions available can do so online; www.willenlake.org.uk/discover-willen-lake/careers/current-vacancies/ The recruitment drive comes as Willen Lake confirms its programme for the season, which begins in April 2019 and runs until the end of October 2019. Alongside popular watersports such as stand-up paddleboarding and canoeing will be a further activity for those visiting the site to enjoy; powerboating. Those interested in this exciting sport can book..

Mayor-to-be, Cllr Sam Crooks is encouraging all cyclists to take part in the Willen Hospice MK to Paris cycle ride this summer.  Following the success of the MK to Amsterdam cycle ride last year, Willen Hospice has arranged a new challenge, MK to Paris. Between 26 – 29 June, cyclists will follow the scenic paths of L’avenue Verte, taking in the beautiful countryside and villages of France as they pedal their way to the country’s capital. Deputy Mayor Cllr Sam Crooks, pictured with MK to Paris cyclist Amy Finch, will be waving everyone off as they leave from the Willen Hospice grounds. Cllr Crooks will then be joined by his family in Paris to cheer the cyclists on through the last leg of this incredible cycle ride.  Deputy Mayor Cllr Sam Crooks says, “My wife and family are from France so this felt like the perfect opportunity to do our..

Local businesses Woolfe Jewellery and charity cards specialists DoodleDoo are spreading some love this Valentines by showing their support for an appeal to help Willen Hospice reach more people living with life-limiting illnesses in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas.  ‘Hearts in our Community’ aims to raise money that can help Willen’s specialist community nursing team to support more patients and their families in their own homes - where and when they need it most.  Businessmen John Woolfe and Glenn Wynsor have been supporting the Hospice for a number of years, more recently raising almost £1,000 through the sale of greetings cards that can be personalised online. For every card bought to support the Hospice, DoodleDoo makes a donation of at least 10% of the purchase price after VAT, which is then match funded by Woolfe Jewellery.   Fundraisers behind the Hospice appeal are calling on local people to visit www.doodle-doo.co.ukahead of this Valentine’s..

Willen Hospice is calling on local ladies to sign up for this year’s MK Midnight Moo, taking place on 13 July 2019. The local charity launched its flagship fundraiser this week, announcing the introduction of a brand new Half-Moo, in addition to its popular 10 mile walk. The new route is just over half the distance (6.3 miles) but promises to be just as much fun.  The Moo has become iconic in Milton Keynes, last year raising more than £120,000. Starting and finishing at intu Milton Keynes at midnight, it’s open to walkers of all levels, whether they walk on their own, in pairs or in teams.  Willen Hospice Chief Executive Peta Wilkinson said: “I was thrilled to be part of last year’s MK Midnight Moo walking alongside 1000 other ladies, all raising money to support our care. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year, and we’re so excited..

The winter weather has finally arrived so intu Milton Keynes is turning up the heat with its sizzling spring/summer 2019 model search!  Following the success of its competition last year, the centre is inviting people to apply to take part and model for its SS19 campaign again this year, which will launch in March.  Five lucky winners will live the day like a model which will include fashion fittings from a range of intu Milton Keynes retailers, including Karen Millen, Miss Selfridge, TM Lewin and Superdry. After being styled, each winner will feature in their own short video for the campaign which will be shot in key spots around Milton Keynes and released on the centres Facebook page.  Plus, as well as showcasing the amazing brands within the centre, each video will give an opportunity for followers to win a £50 intu Gift Card by guessing the retailer featured in..

On Saturday 16 March, MK Gallery reopens following a significant development that will see a doubling of exhibition space on the previous building, a new purpose built auditorium that will host independent film and live events, and a new dedicated learning studio.  As part of the development, the Gallery was determined to ensure the building could be enjoyed by all members of the public and so have installed a Changing Places Toilet in the building, thanks to generous funding from the Margaret Powell Foundation Fund through Milton Keynes Community Foundation.  The new facility meets the needs of those with profound learning disabilities and physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy, providing the following:   A height adjustable adult-sized changing bench and hoist systemShower facilities with a non-slip floorSpace for the disabled person and two carers Centrally places toilet with room and support rails either sideTear off paper roll..