Considering moving to Newton Leys

[mrsys]

We are considering buying our first home in Newton Leys (we've been told there is a 12 year old development there), MK. And would love to know what the area is like - diversity, amenities, things to do.
We have a car so don't mind driving to places, but would love to be able to walk around with our 2 year old.

For context we're moving from London, we're a little familiar with MK but not the surround towns like Newton Leys.
What we're looking for really is a place to raise and grow a family and settle for the next decade, so would be interested to know about schools, diversity (people from different backgrounds), different families - we are a young professional family.

We're going up to explore the area and see the development, but would love to hear from anyone that's familiar with the area or development.

I have a friend in Newton Leys. It is relatively diverse and has lots of young families. There’s a park, a pavilion and a small area with shops - off the top of my head that includes an asda and a costa - and a pub. They are still building there and it’s a big estate. Nursery in the estate but would need to drive to primary and secondary schools. Do you need to commute back to London? You would need to drive to Bletchley or Mk station.

Thank you so much for your reply!

We are looking at buying in the new development. We’re both fully remote so won’t need to travel into London much apart from seeing friends and leisure etc.

Do you know if the area is safe? I’ve looked online and it’s saying it’s the second most dangerous town in Buckinghamshire which doesn’t sound good?

We looked at a house in Newton Leys. The pub is pleasant and has Asda, hairdressers etc at local shops. Schools would be my worry. Their is a primary school on the estate but my friend has moved her 2 children out as she didn't rate it all. Also unless you're planning on private secondary or trying for the grammar schools in Bucks I would avoid. Leon has a bad reputation. Much nicer places on the edge of MK. Have you looked at Wavendon, Woburn, Bow Brickhill etc?

@mrsys no problem. No that doesn’t sound ideal! I’m about 20 mins from there though and never hear of much going on. A lot more crime happens in central MK and other parts of Bletchley. There are some good ideas from the previous poster on other location ideas. Do you want a new build? There are big estates going up in Wavendon, which is just off Woburn Sands. WS is a lovely village, much more to do and good schools. Alternatively there is a huge new all-through school opening by Wavendon which may be the new catchment so you’d have to check that. Other areas around there with new build estates and good schools are Leighton Buzzard and Buckingham.

I am chortling a little at the perceived scariness of the second most dangerous town in Buckinghamshire, especially if you're coming from London. Bucks is a predominantly rural rich county, MK is the only (new) city, and apart from Aylesbury most of the so called towns are tiny rich rural backwaters.

Newton Leys is perfectly OK if you want to live on an out-of-town housing estate, there are some pleasant enough bits to walk around. I personally don't like that kind of area - I like town centre living and I like country living, but can't be doing with the (to me) worst of both bits suburbia. No idea about schools, sorry.

Thank you for you recommendations, @Thatsveryniceofyou and @PretzelBite. We've pulled out of the Newton Leys House, and will be visiting Wavendon this weekend. Quite exciting. Also spoke to a friend who lives on those sides and Wavendon seems to be quite highly regarded.

@MsRinky I'm just doing my research before moving our family. I know that MK is definitely better than London, but as I'm not completely familiar I'm just asking questions based on what I'm seeing online. I've lived in Central London most of my life so haven't experienced crime myself to be honest, but of course some areas have more crime than others, so hence my reference to a report I saw.

I would like to be closer to town centre, but heard that's probably not the way to go, so looking for something in between really. Thanks for responding to my post!

@mrsys good luck. If you want to be close to MK Centre have you looked at Loughton? Schools generally good. Nice area and nice parks?

Wavendon is lovely and the new all through school seems popular with many people not able to get in