Milton Keynes estate approved for demolition by council

The artist's impressions of how the upgraded estate will look

Plans to demolish and rebuild part of a 1960s housing estate have been approved unanimously by councillors.

Serpentine Court, on the Lakes estate in Milton Keynes, will be replaced with 589 homes, half of which will be council housing.

In November 2018, 93% of 206 residents voted in a local ballot for demolition.

Milton Keynes Council chose to redevelop Serpentine Court as part of a wider plan to upgrade seven council estates over the next 15 years.

Residents have voted to demolish flats like this at Serpentine Court

The crumbling estate has suffered from anti-social behaviour, drug and alcohol issues.

Resident Sharlean Owens said: "It's horrendous. You find needles, bits of foil and stuff. There's faeces in the lifts. I can't wait for the knockdown."

The first phase will involve building 300 new homes for Serpentine Court residents to move into before their existing homes are bulldozed.

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Danielle Slaymaker, of the residents' Serpentine Court Steering Group, said: "This is a monumental moment for us... the finale so to speak. We've got one more [council] Cabinet to talk about finances and then hopefully we can see work begin."

Labour Cabinet member Emily Darlington said: "It's absolutely the right time to do it. It's building and regeneration projects like this one that will help bring our economy out of the recession."

Serpentine Court as it looked in 1975

A similar vote took place for the Fullers Slade estate in November 2019 with 55% of residents voting for refurbishment of council houses. Demolition was not an option on the ballot paper.

A £1bn proposal to demolish six other estates across the town has been scaled back and these homes will not be knocked down, but repaired and refurbished instead.