Local News

Last year’s Christmas at Frosts Garden Centre was its most magical yet, recent figures have shown. The Garden Centre, which recently completed its impressive £1.5m refurbishment, saw a brand new Santa’s Grotto in 2016 that delivered the region’s ‘best Santa experience’ according to posts on the Group’s Facebook page. Over 40,000 people visited the grotto, which opened on Sunday 6 November and closed on Christmas Eve. During this festive period, Santa saw 21,400 children and each was given a free toy, 18,458 mince pies were handed out to parents and over 20 tonnes of reindeer food was made. It was also estimated that Santa said ‘Ho, ho, ho’ 85,000 times. Over the entire festive period, the Garden Centre welcomed a total of 850,000 people – its most visits ever over Christmas – who were enticed by free events including Ladies Night and the Magical Night. The iced topping on a..

As the wintery weather takes hold, The Parks Trust, the self-funding charity that cares for Milton Keynes’ green spaces, urges all residents and visitors to its parks to be extra cautious around lakes and rivers. Smaller bodies of water, such as the Grand Union Canal and the ponds at Westcroft tend to freeze over very quickly during the winter months, with the larger lakes following suit as the temperature continues to drop. While these frozen over areas may seem like a tempting playground for many, the risks are real; statistics from the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) show that in the last 10 years over 20 people have died after falling through ice, with young children and males of any age most at risk. Furthermore, over 50 per cent of ice related drownings involved an attempted rescue of another person or a dog. Flooded areas are also..

Motor Vehicle students from Milton Keynes College are set to benefit from a very special donation from Vauxhall Motors in partnership with the Business in the Community organisation. The donation sees the College’s Motor Vehicles department receive a full working Vauxhall Vivaro van from the motor production giant, which is based nearby in Luton. The Vivaro, which will be located at the College’s workshop environment at Bletchley campus, is one of a number of vehicles that the company uses for testing purposes. Once those tests had been completed, the vehicle then became available for donation for educational purposes via Business in the Community, a charity organisation which manages a number of programmes aimed at tackling issues in business and society. By receiving the Vivaro, students on the College’s Motor Vehicle study programmes will be able to practice the skills learned in their lessons on a brand new, fully-working vehicle, providing..

After a thorough and structured search for a new MK Dons manager, chairman Pete Winkelman finally has his man in the form of 36-year-old Robbie Neilson. Winkelman and his board spent just under six weeks whittling through the hundreds of applications, searching for the man to take the reins at Stadium MK and then, last Friday, it was Heart of Midlothian boss Neilson that was unveiled as the man take the Club forward, alongside his assistant Stevie Crawford. The chairman couldn’t be happier. “We aren’t just any old Football Club and I’m pleased we did it the way we did - the Milton Keynes way." Winkelman told MK Dons PlayerHD. "It has been a roller coaster time and we have taken our time at a very difficult time in the season but we made sure we’ve got the right person for the job. “We really thought about it and looked..

Established in 1966 by Kenneth Newton Wright, the parent of a disabled child, MacIntyre has grown to become a leading national charity, highly respected and committed to setting standards and increasing choice. MacIntyre provides learning, support and care for more than 1,200 children, young people and adults with learning disabilities, at more than 150 MacIntyre services across England and Wales. Its diverse range of services includes registered care homes, supported living, outreach, accredited training schemes and lifelong learning services, as well as a residential special school and further education provision. The MacIntyre Community Memory Café ran its first session in February 2016, and was initially set up after it became clear that there is a limited amount of services that are available to support a person with dementia in Milton Keynes. MacIntyre established the Community Memory Café so that anyone, whether they are living with dementia or not, can come..

Milton Keynes City Orchestra (MKCO) will launch its MK50 Celebration concert series on Friday 6th January 2017 at The Venue MK, 7:30pm. This will be the first of seven MK50 Celebration concerts from MKCO in 2017, all featuring internationally renowned soloists under the baton of world-class Music Director, Damian Iorio. In January, leading Russian violinist Anna Liisa Bezrodny, will return to MKCO and perform the marvellous Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 written by the composer when he was just nineteen years old. The Orchestra will open the concert with the Beethoven Egmont Overture and the finale will be Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.3 (Scottish). Anna Liisa Bezrodny has previously performed with the Milton Keynes City Orchestra and is in great demand as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician all over the world, receiving praise from music critics around the globe. Born into a distinguished family of musicians in Moscow, Anna Liisa is the..

Duke of Edinburgh Students at Slated Row School in Wolverton are going the extra mile for their Volunteering  strand by running a Meals on Wheels project for members of the local community. Each week, pupils cook and deliver hot meals to a group of elderly residents living near the Special Needs School. “More usually, it is our students who the beneficiaries of volunteer projects so this is a wonderful opportunity for them to make a valuable contribution to the local community” says Sarah Garratt, D of E manager at the school. As well as using their lunch break to deliver the meals, the students prepare a variety of dishes from Boeuf Bourguignon to a full Christmas dinner so they are able to polish up their cooking skills at the same time as meeting one of the four elements of the Bronze Award. The school used their links to the local..

Cawleys, a local Luton-based waste management company, has recently become a sponsor of Olney RFC, through providing a waste management service for the club. Olney RFC is one of the leading community rugby clubs in Buckinghamshire, and one of the oldest; fielding teams since 1877. The club runs three senior sides plus ladies, colts, vets, girls, mini and junior rugby. With over 1,000 members, including over 450 mini and junior players, the club’s site generates waste from its popular bar area and weekly post-match lunches, and is keen to have the best environmental credentials. With Cawleys help it will be able to achieve this. Occasionally, the club holds hugely popular special events, including a biannual ball with 500-600 attendees, and in these instances, Cawleys will provide a skip to deal with the greater amounts of waste generated. Paul James, Chairman of Olney RFC, commented:  “We really value the support Cawleys..

City Stay Apartments are delighted to announce their success at the prestigious 2016 ASAP Industry Awards, which were held at the Museum of London on 30th November. The glittering evening saw the executive serviced apartment provider take home the Serviced Apartment Business of the Year Award. City Stay Apartments were also recognised as a finalist for the Serviced Apartment Guest Experience Award. City Stay Apartments Managing Director, Mark Philips comments, “On behalf of the City Stay Apartments team, I would like to thank the ASAP for a fantastic evening. It truly was a night to remember! I’m so proud to see that the ASAP has acknowledged the efforts of the City Stay Apartments team. They have all worked so hard in providing the right product for our clients, backed up by excellent customer service. We are all very much looking forward to 2017, where we aim to continue trying to..

The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust enthusiastically welcome the publication of the National Infrastructure Commission’s report into the infrastructure and approach needed to underpin the successful economic growth of the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor. The report, published on 16th November, points to the need to promote new east - west road and rail links as a context for housing and economic growth but in doing so it gives very strong emphasis to the need to create inclusive liveable places, connecting people and communities with opportunities for work and leisure – something which the Trust believes the Waterway Park can play a key role in. Jane Hamilton, Chair of the Trust said “The NIC report provides a tremendous opportunity for us to work with our partners to demonstrate the key role the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park can play in creating a very liveable and joined up environment for people..

The Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Milton Keynes witnessed at first hand today how music can have a positive impact on people living with dementia. Councillor David Hopkins and his wife Susan joined an Alzheimer’s Society Singing for the Brain group, which uses music to stimulate memories. The group met at the Peartree Centre for its festive celebrations, which featured traditional Christmas songs, carols and refreshments. As well as seeing how singing can benefit people living with dementia, the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress met regular members to find out more about them and their condition. Singing for the Brain is an established and successful service provided by Alzheimer’s Society and enjoyed by both men and women living with dementia and by their carers. The programme promotes communication through singing which can help with articulation, concentration, focus and motivation. The groups are relaxed and fun with specially trained facilitators delivering a..

Pursuing Excellence Good news is always worth repeating and I couldn't be more delighted to share the incredible efforts made by MKU Hospital.  They've achieved an upgraded rating of "Good" in the recent CQC report. This news comes amidst many other positive developments in the last two years. Becoming a University hospital will encourage and retain the very best doctors and nurses to MK, the building of the new cancer unit will provide focussed support for patients and the new 20 bed ward will be open in the New Year. These are just some of the major achievements enabling the hospital and its 4,000 staff to work towards reaching the highest standards possible. The hospital will continue to have my full support and I congratulate all the team on their tremendous efforts. MK's 50th..

Christmas has come early as intu Milton Keynes opens its latest food retailer, the phenomenally popular American burger chain, Five Guys. Opening its doors at 11am, customers were queuing to be among the first to sample the burgers, fries and drinks offer. With as many different toppings as you like, the chain’s custom-built burgers have developed a cult-like following despite only launching in the UK in 2013. Not forgetting the Coca-Cola® freestyle machine too, giving 125+ drinks choices! From Orange Coke® to Raspberry Sprite®. The freshness of Five Guys is one of its unique selling points, the chain doesn’t have freezers on-site because they don't use frozen ingredients. At Five Guys, everything's cooked fresh from scratch. The potatoes are hand-cut daily and there is always a sign to tell the customer where they’re grown from – for the opening in intu Milton Keynes, they were from Nottinghamshire. More interesting facts..

The Lions Club of Bletchley helped facilitate a £400 donation and a quantity of food from Merkan CIA a transport company based in Northampton to St Mary’s Church Food Cupboard Bletchley, the £400 will help to purchase fresh food and Christmas presents at Christmas , the fresh goods such as milk and cheese .etc. are purchased on the way to the recipient’s location and the food will be used when required, which could anywhere in the MK Post code area. Mr. Carlos Marques UK Manager Merkan Transport said “it was a pleasure to help such a good cause.” All requests for food parcels are received from Milton Keynes Children's Social Services. Over the years, the Food Cupboard has become a prime unbiased source upon which these professional people call for emergency short-term support for families in need. Food is delivered directly to the door of every recipient family within 4-6..