Knocking down Serpentine Court on Bletchley's Lakes Estate has a £6.3m budget and goes to the builder already on site with no new tender, after 24/7 guards.

Demolishing Serpentine Court on the Lakes Estate in Bletchley has a budget of £6.3 million. The council plans to hand the job to the firm already on site, GRAHAM Construction, by adding it to its existing contract rather than running a new tender.

The proposal went to the council’s Delegated Decisions meeting on Tuesday 15 September. When we checked on 16 September, the council had not yet published the decision record, so it is not confirmed as approved.

The council’s press release of 9 September said a decision was coming. It did not give the cost, or say why the council wants the building down quickly. The officer report does both.

Why now: guards and dog patrols

Serpentine Court is nearly empty. Every council tenant has moved, either into a new home on the Lakes or into another council property they chose. One leaseholder is left, and the report says they have accepted an offer to move “imminently”.

The empty building is costing money and causing trouble. The report describes “escalating incidents” of:

  • unauthorised access
  • vandalism
  • anti-social behaviour
  • damage to utilities that needed contractors and utility companies to attend

The council has recently brought in 24-hour guarding, including dog patrols, across the Serpentine Court complex. GRAHAM already keeps hoardings around the whole vacant building to try to keep people out.

Planning permission and building regulations consent for the demolition have already been granted, the report says.

Where the £6.3m goes

The money comes from the Housing Revenue Account, the ring-fenced budget funded mainly by council tenants’ rents. It is already in this year’s plan. The figures come from a cost plan GRAHAM provided, reviewed by the consultancy Mace.

Serpentine Court demolition: where the £6.3m goes Budget in the council's Housing Revenue Account, 2026/27 Enabling works and demolition £3.30m Council on cost and contingency £1.34m Utilities (provisional sum) £0.91m Meanwhile use of the site £0.75m Source: Milton Keynes City Council, Demolition of Serpentine Court, Delegated Decisions report, 15 September 2026 Graphic by MK Daily
The four parts of the Serpentine Court demolition budget. Graphic by MK Daily.

The “meanwhile use” is a temporary treatment for the cleared site. It stays until the council decides whether to go ahead with a future phase of the regeneration. The report gives no detail of what it will look like.

The report puts the contract variation itself at £6m. The rest of the £6.3m budget covers estimated fees for the utility companies and the council’s own costs.

Why no tender

Demolition was in GRAHAM’s original tender. It was then taken out of the main contract, the report says, to fit the grant funding rules at the time. Those rules changed soon afterwards, but by then the contract had moved on.

The council wants to add the demolition back using Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. That rule lets a council add work to a live contract when changing contractor would cause technical and economic difficulties. The variation must also stay below half the value of the original contract. GRAHAM’s contract is worth £72m, so a £6m variation is well inside that.

The officers’ case is that a second firm would have to work alongside GRAHAM on the same site and the same pipes and cables. They say it would also mean repeating asbestos surveys GRAHAM has already done, and paying for the guards for longer. The detailed legal advice sits in an annex the public cannot see.

Two conditions come with it:

  • the council must publish a modification notice setting out the nature and value of the change
  • the variation cannot take effect for at least 30 days after that notice, unless the council’s legal director says an earlier start is needed for safety or to protect the site

GRAHAM is “mobilised and ready to proceed”, the report says. It gives no demolition start date.

What has been built, and what comes next

GRAHAM finished 183 new council homes on the Lakes Estate, and families have moved in. A report to the same meeting says the final homes were completed in April 2026. A refurbished Warren Park and new community spaces are also part of the scheme.

The council says the regeneration is funded by almost £70 million of its own money and a Homes England grant of just under £15 million. The plans were approved in 2022.

What replaces Serpentine Court is not decided. The press release says clearing it would “unlock the site’s future housing potential, subject to funding”. It names the government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme as a possible source.

Ed Hume, the cabinet member for housing, acknowledged the building’s place in local memory in the release. “We know Serpentine Court holds a special place in the community and that many local people raised their families there,” he said, adding that “the building has now reached the end of its life.”

This is the second big demolition in Bletchley this month. The council has also cleared the way for knocking down the Brunel Centre and the former Wilko.

What it means for you

  • If you live near Serpentine Court, expect the guards and hoardings to stay until demolition starts. That cannot happen until at least 30 days after the council publishes its contract notice, unless the legal exception is used.
  • If you rent from the council, this is your money. The Housing Revenue Account is funded mainly by council rents, and the £6.3m comes from it.
  • To report vandalism or trespass at the site, contact Thames Valley Police on 101, or 999 if a crime is happening now.
  • For what gets built next, watch for a future regeneration phase and a planning application. Neither has been published. Big schemes are listed on our planning news page.

Sources