What we found

Read our research report Hidden Toil Behind Shiny Fronts: experiences of living in a new housing area with little income

We find that while a move to a new housing estate can bring many benefits, it's also a two-tiered experience, especially for low-income residents.

Benefits of new housing include the opportunity to start afresh in a safe and secure environment, especially when having experienced housing insecurity in the private rental market or temporary accommodation. 

However, lack of public transport, limited availability of services, amenities and community hubs, social isolation and struggles with housing associations present challenges that are specific to or especially difficult to overcome when budgets are tight. Dealing with these obstacles brings economic, social and psychological costs that make it harder to hold a job, raise children and live healthily. Moreover, in and amongst the shininess of a new estate, concerns – especially of those with lower incomes – go largely unnoticed and unseen, contributing to their invisibility and marginalisation.

As Milton Keynes continues to grow, concerns aren’t limited to new estates. Schools and voluntary organisations increasingly fill gaps left by shrinking welfare services, taking on roles that extend beyond their core responsibilities such as running food banks and offering families’ social and emotional support. Long-term residents and newcomers alike express concerns about the city’s infrastructure, including healthcare provision and road capacity.

To avoid the city bursting at its seams and new housing areas trapping low-income residents in a life of precarity rather than move them out of it, the report concludes with a Call for Action.

We call on national government and local authorities to work with developers and other stakeholders to:

• Prioritise the establishment of vital services, including schools, health facilities and shops, to serve new and existing residents within reasonable distance;

• Ensure that public transport links are established as soon as new housing areas are being developed to offer affordable and viable ways of travelling around the city;

• Construct community buildings with ample capacity to meet communities’ needs, and ensure temporary facilities are provided until permanent facilities are available;

• Invest in community development to build an inclusive and thriving community;

• Hold housing associations to account for lack of responsiveness or inadequate response to faults or complaints;

• Meaningfully enable the participation of voluntary, community organisations and resident groups before and throughout the development of new housing areas to understand the needs of all residents, and especially those on lower incomes. 

Have a look at what research participants told us about the challenges of living on little in Milton Keynes on this map created by Sheree from Cute Maps.