FUTURE CITIES FORUMTM

Image: Milton Keynes from the air, courtesy www.miltonkeynes.co.uk Future Cities Forum held its November 2025 post Budget debate with the Leader of Milton Keynes Council, Cllr Pete Marland, Director and Planning & Development Adviser within Deloitte Real Assets Advisory, Jeremy Castle, as well as Visiting Professor of sustainable architecture at Queens University Belfast and Sheffield University, Gary Clark, who is also Principal and Managing Director of the London studio of

Image: CGI of Marlow Studios - courtesy of Wilkinson Eyre WilkinsonEyre has been talking about the decision to grant planning permission for Marlow Studios, overturning a previous refusal by the local authority last year. The architects practice is responsible for the designs. In 2023, Future Cities Forum invited Robert Laycock, Co-founder of Dido Property Ltd for a panel discussion at the BFI, looking at the issues around providing enough studio space for film production to

Image: Port Loop in Birmingham - a regeneration project creating new homes, courtesy Howells Architects for Urban Splash Mayor Richard Parker’s plans to reignite the West Midlands economy and raise living standards for tens of thousands of local people were backed by more than £2.5bn in the recent budget, according to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). It states: 'The Mayor will use the money to drive forward his West Midlands Growth Plan which sets out to create 10

Image: courtesy of BDP Architects and designers from BDP have set out a new vision for the transformation of Plymouth’s Grade II-listed Civic Centre, as new images of the proposals are released and the project enters a period of public consultation. The redevelopment aims to re-establish the landmark, BDP reports, as a central part of the city’s civic and social life, with a design that retains the building’s architectural significance while introducing new homes, community u

Image: courtesy of Foster + Partners Masterplan designs for a mixed-use development in Thessaloniki, Greece, have been revealed, by Foster + Partners. The firm has been appointed by developers, Dimand, to transform the historic FIX brewery, an iconic heritage landmark of industrial Thessaloniki, into a dynamic urban project that features vibrant public space, new homes, hotels, and a range of cultural amenities. Situated on the seafront by the city’s western port-gate, a walk

Above: CGI of the consented Sheppard Robson designed development at Block E3 West in Milton Keynes (courtesy Sheppard Robson) Future Cities Forum held its pre-budget debate this week. The discussion reflected the current situation of a stalling housing market, slowing construction and soaring building costs. Questions were posed on whether the Chancellor Rachel Reeves's potential reform of stamp duty will help or hinder buyer/seller demand and how the Planning and Infrastruct

Above: CGI of the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital which is in the first wave of the New Hospital Programme (Courtesy NBBJ) Future Cities Forum is delighted that Katie Gosling, Director of Delivery, Strategy and Improvement for NHS England's New Hospital Programme, will be joining our 'Future hospitals and R&D campuses' discussion event this week at Barts North Wing in Smithfield, City of London.. Before her current role, Katie was Head of Delivery at the NHS for East,

Above: the new James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, which is in the first wave of the government's New Hospital Programme (courtesy James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) Future Cities Forum is delighted that Mike Shaw, Design Director at Mace and working as a technical lead on NHS England's New Hospital Programme, will be contributing to our 'Future hospital' discussion event at the North Wing, St Bartholomew's Hospital. Mace leverages over three

Image: Dominic Hook - courtesy of BDP Future Cities Forum is delighted that Dominic Hook, architect director in the London studio of BDP, who specialises in healthcare and education projects will be contributing to our discussion event this week at Barts North Wing in Smithfield, City of London. Dominic was the design team leader on the multi award-winning 60,000m2 Alder Hey Children’s Health Park in Liverpool and has been the co-design lead on BDP's 165,000m2 New Children’s

Image: courtesy of Cambridge City Council The current plans for Cambridge City Council's investment of £80 million in north Cambridge have been developed following an earlier round of engagement in May/June 2025 to help create the council’s North Cambridge Framework for Change. This is its corporate vision for north Cambridge which sets out the council’s long-term plan for investment in Arbury, King’s Hedges and Chesterton.  The council says hundreds of people responded to it