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City of concrete cows reaches 40 Town of concrete cows reaches 40
(about 4 hours later)
The city famous for its concrete cows and roundabouts is celebrating its 40th birthday with a special postage stamp. The town famous for its concrete cows and roundabouts is celebrating its 40th birthday with a special postage stamp.
A total of 400 first day covers will be issued on Tuesday to toast four decades since Milton Keynes was declared a new city by the government. A total of 400 first day covers will be issued on Tuesday to toast four decades since Milton Keynes was declared a new town by the government.
In 1967 it was just a Buckinghamshire village, that had been mentioned in the Domesday book, but it is now an urban area with a 218,000 population. In 1967 it was just a Buckinghamshire village that had been mentioned in the Domesday book, but it is now an urban area with a population of 218,000.
Plans to expand the city with a further 70,000 houses are now being developed. Plans to expand the town with a further 70,000 houses are now being developed.
In a message on the council's website, chief executive John Best described the city as "dynamic". In a message on Milton Keynes Council's website, chief executive John Best described the town as "dynamic".
We have to be an inclusive place, where prosperity is shared John Best, chief executive of Milton Keynes Council
"We are on an incredible journey, but it's not without hazards," he said."We are on an incredible journey, but it's not without hazards," he said.
"We have to be an inclusive place, where prosperity is shared. "We have to be an inclusive place, where prosperity is shared."
"We have to work out how to encourage confidence in our citizens, together to plan the rapid evolution of our city." Exhibition
Special events are being held throughout the day to celebrate the birthday, including a fireworks display at the Discovery Centre in Bradwell Abbey and a thanksgiving service at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone.
There is also an exhibition in Middleton Hall in the Centre:MK where works of local inventors, poets and film-makers will be on show.
Milton Keynes was originally built to accommodate an incoming population of Londoners over a period of 20 years, and the site was deliberately chosen to be equidistant from London, Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford and Cambridge.
The designated area was almost 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres) and included the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradford, together with 13 villages and the brickfields to the south west of Bletchley.
The name "Milton Keynes" was taken from the existing village of Milton Keynes on the site.