POTEnT addresses a key challenge for European cities and regions: how to achieve more carbon reduction by harnessing the potential of direct and local action by citizens and communities. The objective of POTEnT was to reduce carbon emissions faster than “Business as Usual” through additional and better energy services provided by local and regional authorities. Milton Keynes City Council ran a variety of projects including: 

• Domestic insulation Pilot Project. 2 August 2022. Published on project website and on GP database
• LED Street Light Upgrade. 18 March 2022. Published on project website and on GP database
• Centralised Utility Bill Payment and monitoring 1 March 2022. Published on project website and on GP database
• Green Roofs. 4 February 2022. Published on project website and on GP database
• E-cargo bikes. 18 August 2021. Published on project website and on GP database

The Intensify project addresses a key challenge for European cities and regions: how to empower citizens and communities to achieve more carbon reduction. The Intensify project ran from April 2018 until summer 2023.

Two actions made up the MK regional action plan. Action 1 was a collaborative programme with local partners to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. Using a fabric first approach, refurbishment of MKC buildings will include renewable energy and low carbon technologies where appropriate. This will bring down CO2 emissions faster than business as usual and make a valuable contribution to the MKC target of net zero by 2030. Project partners in Treviso have a similar project and shared their knowledge and experience that helped to build the MK partnership.

Action 2 was an exciting new Energy and Carbon Hub. The Hub will be a resource for citizens to learn how to reduce their energy use and subsequent costs. Partnerships will deliver low carbon projects with local communities, organisations and individual citizens.

In November 2021 the INTENSIFY project partners organised a regional conference to coincide with the COP26 event in Glasgow. The MK Conference shared ideas on the INTENSIFY Regional Action Plans of Milton Keynes and project partner Treviso.

The MK Conference was opened by the Mayor and the political leader of the Council. We also heard from 14 local low carbon experts and delivery partners.

Hot Maps is an open-source tool for mapping and planning heating and cooling systems. The project ran from 2016 until 2020.

The mapping tool was designed to assist with planning by providing layers of GIS information on climate, current land use, number and characteristics of existing buildings, population and available resources for renewable energy. This data will provide a quick assessment for the potential of district heat and power systems as well as identifying sites for turbines and solar photovoltaic parks.

Read the Hotmaps brochure to find more information about the toolbox and how to access it.

The 'living street” project aim was to convert streets from a road into an attractive area that people can meet, grow plants and flowers, create an entertainment space and share food. The project was live between 2016 and 2018.

The results of this project showed that MK citizens were not yet ready for Living Streets as the city is a new town built for the individual car user. Milton Keynes had few traffic problems but will grow from 230,000 inhabitants to over 300,000 in the next 7 years and 500,000 by 2050.

Existing communities need more time to accept this initiative, gain trust and ownership of the public realm in a car-centric city where green space is near to everyone’s house. The legacy of the Living Streets initiative here is that people will be more involved in designing new neighbourhoods.

CitiZEN ran between 2015 and 2017. The POWER project team formed a citizens group to create a pathway to reducing water consumption in Milton Keynes. Water is one of the priorities for action in the MK Sustainability Strategy.

The CitiZEN Interest Board was a great success producing some dynamic discussions and intelligent suggestions for future sustainable planning. The suggestions have been forwarded to the designer of the new planning SPD released in 2020.

CAPE ran between 2015 and 2017. This project developed an interactive website that allowed citizens and communities in Milton Keynes to start and run projects that will make their energy use cheaper, more effective and more sustainable. It made use of the latest technologies such as the internet, social media, satellite imaging and data matching.

In October 2014, the Imagine MK 2050 roadmap was approved by Milton Keynes Council and adopted as an update to the existing low carbon living strategy 2010.

Read the IMAGINE 2050 Roadmap which was the an occasion to take a fresh look at the low carbon strategy for Milton Keynes. This has since been updated to our current Sustainability Strategy 2019 to 2050.

The low carbon living programme was developed to re-establish the city as a place where new ideas can be tested, and innovation incorporated into daily living. A range of projects were proposed to support and encourage residents to embrace the low carbon agenda and offer a business environment which welcomes companies working in the “green” economy.

The Milton Keynes low carbon programme prospectus sets out the city’s sustainable development under four main themes:

• Your part in the future: engaging the community and local initiatives
• A low carbon city: reducing the environmental impact of buildings and transport
• Technology: improving the present and protecting the future
• Direction: clear and informed strategies, policies and master planning