Milton Keynes City Council Invests in Learning, Culture and Public Spaces Across the City

MKs most popular children’s library now bigger and more accessible

Milton Keynes City Council has reopened its newly expanded children’s library in the city centre, now on the ground floor.

Central Library is one of ten libraries run by the city council and welcomes more than 4,000 residents each week. Its popular children’s library holds more than 32,000 titles and this summer, almost 3,000 local children signed up to the Summer Reading Challenge. In fact, 30% of library members are under 18 – with 28,000 local children holding their own library card.

Pupils from Oldbrook First School and local author Paula Harrison were invited to a special opening event attended by the Mayor of MK, Cllr James Lancaster and Deputy Leader, Cllr Lauren Townsend. After cutting the ribbon, they welcomed children to explore the new space and were treated to a reading from the author’s latest book.

The Central Library also runs events, regular clubs and activity sessions including Lego and Duplo club, knit and natter groups and one-to-one computer help. For more information on free services, upcoming events and clubs, please visit www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/libraries

College expansion nears completion thanks to £6.1m City Council investment

Milton Keynes College is close to delivering two expanded campuses backed by a substantial £6.1m investment from Milton Keynes City Council, with a further £2m just released.

New classrooms are being built to accommodate a rapid rise in student numbers, with an increase of 806 since the 2022/23 academic year and a further increase seen in 2025/26 enrolments which now exceed 4,000. To see the progress first-hand, Cllr Shanika Mahendran, Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking, visited the College to tour the new facilities and speak with students about how the changes will benefit their learning experience.

The project is increasing capacity at both the Chaffron Way and Bletchley campuses, delivering:

• More than 350 additional teaching spaces
• Enhanced motor vehicle workshops
• State-of-the-art engineering facilities
• Energy efficiency upgrades, helping to reduce long-term operational costs.

The investment has been made possible by the city council collecting money from housebuilders as the city grows, which it puts into local infrastructure such as education and healthcare. This is one of many projects supported by growth funding across the city.

Recently, the city council invested £15.6m of developer contributions into cancer and acute care at Milton Keynes University Hospital.

Milton Keynes welcomes special artwork at Station Square

You may have noticed some bright new artwork at Sation Square recently. Commissioned by MKDP and the city council, Walk With Your Dreams, by Yinka Ilori MBE fills Station Square with striking colours and patterns inspired by Nigerian textiles and by Milton Keynes itself. Integrated into the flooring, the installation will help guide pedestrians towards the city centre as well as creating a more welcoming public space at this busy city arrival point, ready for hosting some events in the new future.

The artwork is complemented by a new planting scheme with species selected for their beauty, biodiversity and sustainability.