Local News

A special delivery of MK50 postal stamps have landed on Milton Keynes’ doorstep. Milton Keynes locals, former post-master at Bletchley Park Post Office, John Chapman and Creative Designer Simon Goodger, have created a range of four commemorative stamps to celebrate Milton Keynes 50th birthday and the city’s public art. Licenced by the Royal Mail, the stamps show the famous Concrete Cows by artist Liz Leyh, the regularly passed-by sculpture, O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast by Ronald Rae at Station Square, the memorable The Whispers bronze statue perched outside Milton Keynes’ Central Library, and lastly Willen Lake’s Peace Pagoda, the first to be built in the Western World. The stamps are available for purchase with large proportions of profits going to charity. The limited edition full sheets of 20 stamps can be bought for £40 and the mini sheets of 10 stamps cost £25. There are also accompanying MK50..

centre:mk have announced that River Island has selected the centre to create a brand new regional flagship store. Situated at 23-25 Acorn Walk, River Island will double its existing unit size to 20,000 sq ft, which will be open in time for Christmas. The store, designed by the retailer’s in-house team, will be tailored to display the brand’s full range of stylish and affordable menswear, womenswear and children’s fashion ranges. In addition, designer eyewear specialists Acuitis is set to launch its first store outside of London at centre:mk later this month. The 2,152 sq ft store, designed by its in-house team, is situated at 30 Silbury Arcade and features eyewear collections for men, women, teens and children. Kevin Duffy, Centre Director commented: “The new, significantly larger River Island store reaffirms centre:mk as a highly successful and sought after regional shopping destination. River Island’s flagship store will be an exciting addition..

A brand new Care Home in Newton Leys recently opened its doors to some local school children to plant a time capsule. 25 students from Newton Leys Primary School were invited down, and brought with them lots of wonderful, handrawn pictures and trinkets to put inside the capsule. Lakeview Lodge Care Home, which officially opens its doors on Sunday 17th of September for a Public Open Day, overlooks the beautiful Little Willow Lake and will house 66 residents and has created more than 40 jobs for local people. Spread over three floors, Lakeview Lodge will be registered to provide personalised residential and dementia care in a luxury environment, but at an affordable cost to the local community. The home has been purpose built in traditional stone to promote a lifestyle for residents that offers superior accommodation and a high quality of personalised care. The home will boast 66 en-suite bedrooms,..

This month Milton Keynes Community Fridge has been officially launched at The Old Bath House community centre in Wolverton following a successful crowdfunding campaign which saw the project exceed their target of donations towards the cost of setting up. The ‘Community Fridge’, is being trialled with the support of environmental charity Hubbub UK and Bosch in a growing effort to tackle food waste. The fridges will enable residents and businesses to share surplus food and for anyone to help themselves to quality food that would otherwise be wasted. Co-op, Wordsworth Avenue and Costa's are leading in their efforts to use the service and help them reduce their food waste.   The two fridges and one freezer donated by Bosch are available for anyone to access from Monday-Friday, 7-9pm. Co-ordinator Helen Innes said; “We are thrilled to be able to launch MK Community Fridge and thank everyone who has helped make..

Climb aboard and join Milton Keynes Youth Cabinet for a scavenger hunt around MK to win a £50 shopping voucher. Milton Keynes Youth Cabinet has teamed up with Arriva to encourage Secondary School pupils to explore Milton Keynes using Arriva Buses. With a group of friends (up to four) each participant will be provided with a free day bus ticket and a free goodie bag which will include a completion booklet. At selected places, participants will stop off to get a stamp in the completion booklet before moving on to the next location. “Learning how to navigate the buses is a great way for young adults to gain independence and confidence.” Said Roz Mascarenhas, Youth Participation Team. Last year, MK Youth Cabinet worked with Arriva to launch the All-in-One travel card which is available to anyone under the age of 19 and offers discounts on journeys. The MK Youth Cabinet..

Milton Keynes local radio station MKFM’s campaign to collect 50,000 tins of food for the MK Food Bank over 90 days has significantly overachieved its goal, with 64,112 tins collected by the radio station for the local community. The tins collected over the three-month campaign will be used in part to help feed local children who will be without Free School Meals over the Summer period. MKFM's Darren and Lia launched the campaign in response to news that there are now 2,000 Food Banks operated around the UK, with 12 of those being in Milton Keynes. The collection was aided with additional help from Tesco, who operated a week of activity inside their stores, and London Midland, who announced about our collection on train services running through Milton Keynes Central. Holiday Inn Central Milton Keynes also assisted the campaign, with a donation of £2,000 allowing the Food Bank to purchase..

The Mayor of Milton Keynes Cllr David Hopkins officially opened the 'Science of Vaping Tour' last Friday morning at the centre:mk, which aims to debunk the myths around e-cigarettes. The Mayor said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted, ladies and gentlemen to support any initiative that not only reduces, but indeed eliminates cigarette smoking In the UK, this what this is doing, The studies and reports of public health seem to prove that this is very positive. So without further ado, I declare this initiative duly opened.’ The new initiative has been set-up in a bid to educate smokers about e-cigarettes in the face of growing evidence that the ‘95% less harmful’ message is not getting through to the public and government inaction is contributing to declining adoption of vaping products. The Science of Vaping Tour includes a 10-day tobacco ‘Amnesty Shredder’ stunt in the Centre:MK and on Bletchley high street, which invites..

The report gave particular praise to the fast and continued progress achieved since the previous report by Ofsted, explaining: “Leaders, managers and governors have made rapid progress in building a culture of continuous improvement with determination. They have communicated this very successfully to staff and as a result, staff across the college, are enthusiastic and apply the improvement strategies effectively to their work.” As a result, the College confirmed its position as a leading Further Education provider in the region.  The team of ten inspectors observed a range of classes and college activities and met with students, employers and stakeholders and were impressed with what they saw and heard.  They commented that “Students benefit from imaginative, well-structured and interesting lessons” and highlighted that “most students make good progress” compared to their starting points.   Inspectors went on to praise the good quality teaching, learning and assessment in both classroom and practical..

The Bus Shelter MK charity launched to the public and set out to deliver an innovative initiative to tackle the growing number of homeless people in Milton Keynes.  In partnership and part funded by intu Milton Keynes shopping centre, a double decker bus - an ex touring bus for stars such as Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart - will provide accommodation, self-catering, sanitation, advice and training to help homeless people go from ‘homelessness’ to ‘hope’.  The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Councillor David Hopkins helped to launch the bus and was joined on stage by the general manager of intu Milton Keynes, Shelley Peppard; Thomas Davis, the founder of The Bus Shelter MK and Pam Williams the chair of the charity. MK Mark Lancaster was joined by Councillor Alex Walker in a show of support for the launch of the bus, which was at the centre until Sunday 18 June, will return..

A fearless MK estate agent has skydived and tackled the Three Peaks Challenge in the name of fund-raising. Now she’s putting her best foot forward for a charity dance competition. Not many people who claim to have two left feet would sign up for a Strictly Come Dancing style competition where they’ll be performing in front of their industry colleagues, but MK estate agent Kathryn Hunter is always up for a challenge. Last year, Kathryn’s fund-raising activities saw her winning Best Individual Fundraiser at an annual ball hosted by property industry charity Agents Giving, who were so impressed with her commitment they asked her to join the board of Directors. Without hesitation, Kathryn said yes – and immediately signed up for the charity’s ‘Strictly Agents Dancing’ competition, at which she’ll be paired up with a UK gold medallist dancer for the Agents Giving ball in December. ‘I don’t think, I..

Famous faces are coming out in force to donate their rare items to help children and adults with life-limiting and terminal illnesses.  Actress Joanna Lumley is urging people to support Keech Hospice Care in Luton by handing in their good quality items to one of its 32 charity shops across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes.  Miss Lumley along with other stars including; national treasure Dame Maggie Smith, comedians Matt Lucas and Jo Brand, entertainer Graham Norton, Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi, and Hollywood actor Colin Salmon, have all had a good clear out for the charity - which has lost the equivalent of a nurse’s care from now until next February due to a rise in unsaleable items being donated. “I’m encouraging everyone to #DeclutterForKeech,” said Miss Lumley. “I’ve done it and it makes me feel fabulous.  “I’ve given a van full of furniture, china and paintings. Some bits I still..

Two public drop-in sessions are being held in June on the three possible options for a pedestrian crossing on the V4 Watling Street (Junction 4). The new crossing will link Fullers Slade with the new Fairfield estate of the Western Expansion Area close to the Kiln Farm Roundabout. The drop in sessions will be held at the Safety Centre (Hazard Alley), 18 Carters Lane, Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes MK11 3ES on: Saturday 10 June between 10am and 2pm Wednesday 14 June between 4pm and 8pm At these sessions you can find out information about the three possible options for this location, ask questions and make comments. The three options are: An underpass A footbridge A signalised crossing g. pelican MK Council has appointed 2020 Consultancy to conduct this consultation on their behalf which began on 22 May 2017 and ends at 5pm on 23 June 2017. The other pedestrian crossing..

MK’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidates believe the City could play a leading role for Britain as it seeks to form new trade relationships around the world. Mark Lancaster and Iain Stewart visited Tech Mahindra an Indian multinational provider of information technology who have their UK headquarters based in Central Milton Keynes. On the visit the candidates discussed why Milton Keynes has become a hub for national and international businesses. Since 2010 more than 3,000 new businesses have started up in MK and the area is consistently top of the league tables for economic growth and employment. The Conservative Candidate for Milton Keynes North Mark Lancaster said: “Today we visited a serious global business turning over billions every year which has not only decided to enter the UK market but also to locate its headquarters here in Milton Keynes. It demonstrates just how attractive MK has become to live and work. “But we..

An innovative local charity called The Bus Shelter MK has been launched to help tackle Milton Keynes’ homelessness.  The Bus Shelter MK, delivered in partnership with intu Milton Keynes, is the brainchild of Thomas Davis, who has experienced homelessness himself and is now ‘determined to provide homeless people with a route off the street and into a new life’. The Bus Shelter concept originated in the Isle of Wight, and proved to be a huge success and so Thomas hopes to replicate that success in Milton Keynes.  The charity has already raised £10,000 to purchase a former band bus, which has taken support crews for stars like Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart on tours across Europe. The Bus Shelter MK must now find an additional £20,000 to complete the project and welcome their first residents.  The bus will provide a warm and safe place for people to sleep that will..

Milton Keynes College honoured its learners and their achievements on Thursday 25 May at the Students of the Year 2017 Awards, held at the spectacular Sculpture Gallery at Woburn Abbey. The evening is always a huge celebration for everyone connected with the College, highlighting the achievements and success stories from the current cohort of learners, while bringing together students and staff from across the spectrum and crowning one overall Student of the Year. On the night itself, a total of 26 awards were presented by representatives of each category’s industry sponsor, demonstrating and developing the College’s partnerships with commercial businesses and providers. This year, the night’s top prize went to Karen Mwamba, who received the Student of the Year award from sponsor Santander to a standing ovation from the packed audience. Karen also collected the prize for the Business, Retail and Logistics category earlier in the evening. Karen is currently..