Western MK Needs a Bus: Connect Stony Stratford to Westcroft

We're closing in on 400 signatures — thank you.

Since the last update, we've presented the campaign at two community council meetings — Fairfields (9 July) and Whitehouse (16 July) — and have a third scheduled at Shenley Church End Parish Council on Monday 10th August at 7:30pm.

The council's Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport has confirmed officers are being made aware of the campaign and the bus operator's interest. The window for a formal council debate is September.

If you live in Hazeley, Oxley Park, Kingsmead, or the surrounding areas, I'd especially like to hear from you — what does the lack of a bus mean for your daily life? I'm collecting resident experiences to bring to the Shenley Church End meeting.

Full details and campaign updates: https://mkweabus.defp.uk/updates

350 signatures — and we hit that during a heat wave. I genuinely didn't expect it.

While most of us have been doing our best to stay indoors and survive the heat, hundreds of you took the time to sign and share the petition. That says everything about how strongly people in western Milton Keynes feel about this. No bus service to your nearest high street, and nobody's willing to just accept it quietly — not even at 30-odd degrees.

Thank you to everyone who's signed, and especially to those who've been sharing it. Word of mouth is doing the heavy lifting here.

If you haven't shared it yet, please do — every share reaches someone else who's stuck without a bus. The link: https://mkweabus.defp.uk/sign

We've made the local press — the MK Citizen has run a piece on the campaign: "Petition calls for bus to connect Stony Stratford to Westcroft." Worth a read, and worth sharing: https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/petition-calls-for-bus-to-connect-stony-stratford-to-westcroft-8741919

The timing matters. Milton Keynes City Council debates its Council Plan at full council today (17 June) — including whether to take on bus franchising powers. As I told the Citizen: franchising has to mean new routes where they're needed, not just protecting the ones we have. Western MK has 15,000 residents and purpose-built bus lanes on Barrosa Way — and effectively no bus.

We're now at 168 signatures, and two parish councils — Fairfields and Shenley Church End — are taking the campaign to their July meetings.

If you've already signed, thank you. Now please share it — the more names behind this, the harder it is to ignore.

We've passed 100 signatures in under a week — thank you to everyone who's signed and shared!

This morning, formal letters went to all three MPs whose constituencies the route crosses: Chris Curtis (MK North), Emily Darlington (MK Central), and Callum Anderson (Buckingham & Bletchley). Each letter sets out the case for their constituents — the infrastructure already built, the 50-minute bus journeys that take 5 minutes by car, and MK Connect costing up to £6.50 with no Sunday service.

We've also reached out to ward councillors and parish councils, and our FOI request to MKCC for MK Connect data has been acknowledged.

Next target: 250 signatures. Keep signing and sharing — the full proposal is at mkweabus.defp.uk.

Built for buses that never came, but we're not done asking.

48 signatures in 24 hours — thank you!

What's happened so far:
- Parish councils and ward councillors have been contacted for support
- A Freedom of Information request has been submitted to MK City Council
- The MK Chamber of Commerce has been asked to connect with Westcroft businesses

What's next:
- 100 signatures is our first target — that's when we go to our three local MPs
- Flyers are being prepared for Westcroft shops and community venues
- We're sharing the campaign with more local groups over the coming days

Know anyone in Stony Stratford, Fairfields, Hazeley, Oxley Park, Kingsmead, or Westcroft? Please share — the more names we have, the harder this is to ignore.