Community Reserve Sites

What is a Community Reserve Site?
'Community Reserve Sites’ (CRSs) are the plots of land across Milton Keynes that were gifted to us by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation in the 1980's. Our property company, MK Community Properties Ltd, manages the sites with a view to the long-term development of the area, ensuring that the sites are used appropriately to benefit the local community, and that the current and future needs of the voluntary sector are met. All surpluses from MK Community Properties Ltd are passed to the Foundation to support grant making to the voluntary and community sector.

We currently own 45 CRSs that are set side for community use. They can be purchased and developed by not-for-profit organisations and  local authority groups or charities that are working for the benefit of the people of Milton Keynes. Groups may be eligible to purchase a CRS at not less than 25% of the market rate for land, provided that they can show that their development would benefit the local community i.e. charitable use or other non-commercial or non-residential use. 

Click to view the list of Community Reserve Sites currently available for development.

Organisations wishing to explore the possibility of developing a CRS need to be aware that it is not until their proposal reaches Stage 4, (the stage  the Expression of Interest form has been successful and a  full and formal application has been invited), that a specific CRS can be confirmed for their development.  Groups are strongly advised not to focus on or invest their time on a particular community reserve site when submitting an Expression of Interest, but instead to detail the activities they wish to undertake and the size of building they plan to develop.  As part of the assessment process the Community Foundation will endeavour to help identify the most suitable CRS during Stage 4.

Locations of Community Reserve Sites currently available for development can be found here and a full list of Community Reserve Sites is available for download here.

I’ve seen that there’s a Community Reserve Site near my house – what does this mean for me?
Many Community Reserve Sites are as yet undeveloped plots. MK Community Properties ensure that the plots are kept in a reasonable state of repair until purchased by a suitable non-profit group. Once a group has successfully applied to purchase a site from MK Community Properties, the group will have to go through the usual planning application procedures for the building itself.

Possible developments of a Community Reserve Site include the headquarters of a charity, community centres, faith-based buildings that run community activities, buildings that are used for community activities such as scouts and guides, and buildings providing services and activities for people with disabilities or older people.