Milton Keynes and South Midlands (MKSM) is one of four main growth areas identified within the Greater South East to accommodate much of the housing growth which will be required to meet population and demographic change.
The MKSM growth area covers the counties of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, the unitary authorities of Luton and Milton Keynes and the borough of Aylesbury Vale. The growth area is adjacent to Warwickshire.
Last year, Advantage West Midlands commissioned WM Enterprise Consultants to carry out a study into the impact of the MKSM growth area on the West Midlands region. The study concluded that the impact would be limited, largely because there are not strong links between MKSM and the West Midlands.
Nevertheless, they approached the West Midlands Regional Observatory to monitor the situation on an annual basis, to allow remedial action to be taken if evidence suggests that the impact is growing.
To monitor the most significant threats to the region, we used the series of high risk impacts identified in the WM Enterprise Consultants report as a starting point. These included:
- Number of net additional dwellings
- Affordable housing completions
- Commercial and industrial floorspace and rateable value
- Change in numbers employed in growth sectors
- Change in numbers employed in “sectors in transition”, particularly manufacturing
- Inter-regional migration
- Gross weekly pay
- Percentage of people aged 16 years or over with no qualifications
- Amount of land developed for employment by type
We used this list to identify a small set of indicators to monitor the impact of the MKSM on the West Midlands. Some of the indicators were monitored by comparing their values in the MKSM area to the West Midlands region and the Coventry and Warwickshire sub-region. Other indicators, such as migration, were monitored by comparing the direct link between the two areas.
The results were presented in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Baseline Monitoring Report (PDF, 724KB). This largely confirmed the findings of WM Enterprise Consultants report, that the MKSM area is having little impact on the West Midlands.