Milton Keynes in England has unveiled a new Smart City Action Plan. It aims to tackle climate change, enhance public health and deliver more cost-efficient public services.

The city wants to enable advanced technologies to operate in the city and encourage more innovative trials. These will address societal challenges, including sustainability, access to healthcare and the rising operational costs of public services.

The city is planning to work through enhanced partnerships. These include The Open University to drive marketing and engagement through the MK:Smart programme – a joint partnership to align smart city work.

The city is also planning to involve residents through the new Experience Centre at centre:mk. This is a joint initiative between private sector partners and the city council, serving as a shop window for customers to experience and interact with robots and digital technologies

Milton Keynes hopes to extend development of its Testbed for future and strategic smart city technologies and policies. The city has an established urban testbed programme, where researchers trial urban initiatives. Current live trials in the city involve self-driving shuttles, urban drone deliveries, and advanced radio communications. One in three jobs in the city is in tech, and the city council is determined to encourage further local tech investment, creating more skilled jobs for local people.

The city council is inviting organisations interested in trialling new technologies in an urban environment to contact it. They can email Invest Milton Keynes on enquiries@investmiltonkeynes.com. 

A council decision to approve the Smart City Action Plan is set for January 2025.

Last month more than 1,000 people attended the city council’s AI Festival. This brought together tech experts and businesses to showcase cutting-edge technologies that the city will benefit from in the coming years. Plans are already underway for next year’s Milton Keynes Tech Week event.