A team of lawyers from Freeth Cartwright has advised Milton Keynes Council on the “historic” acquisition of £32 million of land and property assets from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA).
Under the terms of an overall agreement to ‘localise’ the HCA’s roles and responsibilities in Milton Keynes, the Council has taken over full control of planning decisions in the area and responsibility for managing the Milton Keynes tariff-based infrastructure programme, as well as purchasing the land previously held by the HCA in Milton Keynes.
Led by Ian Rowson and James Hart (Real Estate), and Stephen Pearson (Public Sector Commercial), over 20 lawyers in six of the firm’s offices contributed to the project, advising the Council on corporate structures, property, planning, contracts, tax and commercial issues arising out of the transaction.
Council Leader Andrew Geary said: “It’s no exaggeration to say that this an historic occasion, not just for the Council but for the whole of Milton Keynes.
“For the first time since the inception of the new city in 1967, all the powers to determine the nature, quality and pace of development in Milton Keynes – both through the exercise of planning powers and through the ownership of land with significant development potential – will be held by the locally accountable body, Milton Keynes Council. This is truly localism in action.”
James Hart from Freeth Cartwright added: “The transfer of assets and control of planning decisions was to a demanding timetable and presented unusual and complex legal issues. With the backing of our national network of offices, including our Kimbells Freeth branch in Milton Keynes, we met the demands of the project, and in collaboration with the Council’s in-house team and the HCA and their advisers were able to meet the deadline set.”
The assets being purchased from the HCA were transferred to a new body – the Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) – set up by Milton Keynes Council, advised by Freeth Cartwright’s corporate team, to bring an entrepreneurial and commercial approach to the development of these assets.
The newly appointment independent Chair of the Milton Keynes Development Partnership, John Duggan, said: “These are exciting times for the future development of Milton Keynes.
“The MKDP will seek to ensure that these assets are used to bring the greatest possible benefit to all the citizens of MK, reinforcing the potential of the city as an economic powerhouse.“
