Milton Keynes City Council have invited local people and businesses to share their thoughts on proposals to renovate the town centres in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford.

Following previous engagement with the community, Milton Keynes City Council are proposing upgrades as part of their Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal to deliver more accessible pedestrian crossing, new street furniture, planting and public spaces designed to attract more people to the town centres.

The plans MK City Council are pushing include improvements on Queensway and Aylesbury Street as well as works taking place on Saxon Street to create an accessible gateway into the town centre.

The consultation is now open until 22 September and people interested in taking part are encouraged to attend a consultation event or view the proposals on the Commonplace platform and share their feedback.

Four events are planned for the area in September 2024. They are:

• Duncombe Street Community House, 2 September, 6pm to 8pm
• Brunel Centre, 11 September, 12pm to 3pm
• West Bletchley Council Offices (Whaddon Way), 15 September, 1pm to 4pm
• South Central Institute of Technology, 18 September, 10am to 2pm

Further events will be announced on the Commonplace platform.

After the conclusion of their consultation, MK City Council will produce a document detailing the feedback received and how it will be incorporated before construction starts next year.

In 2020, Milton Keynes City Council successfully secured £22.7m through the Town Deal Fund for the regeneration of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Since then, the city council and the Town Deal Board have announced plans to redevelop underused sites and built a new redway to better connect the area.

Leader of Milton Keynes City Council, Cllr Pete Marland, said, “We’re making good progress to deliver a better future for Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. It’s absolutely vital that local people continue to be involved in helping shape these proposals. I encourage everyone with a connection to the area to have their say, so we can continue working together to bring real change that reflects the community’s ambitions.”

Northampton Town picked up their first win of the season as they came from behind to beat Exeter City 2-1.

Tristan Crama’s header had put Exeter in front inside the opening ten minutes, but two goals in 12 minutes from Callum Morton and Cameron McGeehan turned the game in Northampton’s favour.

Victory was Northampton’s first in any competition for the new season, having lost their season opener and lost in the Carabao Cup.

A lively early phase saw both sides miss early chances, with Reece Cole firing wide when well placed before Sam Hoskins was kept out by Joe Whitworth after his shot took a deflection.

But with 8 minutes on the clock, Exeter scored first. Cole’s corner found defender Crama, who headed home for his first goal since joining the Devonians on loan from Brentford.

Another Exeter corner nearly yielded a second goal for the visitors, with Lee Burge having to deny Jack McMillan.

Northampton offered more as the first half went on, with Whitworth denying a Mitch Pinnock free-kick that some Cobblers fans felt should’ve been given inside the box, before Morton saw an effort just prodded wide.

Although an equaliser wouldn’t come in the first half for the home side, one did 20 minutes into the second as Hoskins found Morton, who was able to thread a shot through Whitworth’s legs and into the back of the Exeter net.

Both sides would exchange opportunities in the aftermath, with Luke Mbete blocking a shot by Exeter substitute Kamari Doyle before Whitworth made a flying stop to keep out Hoskins.

But the game’s third goal would fall Northampton’s way, as McGeehan scored his first goal for the club. The Northern Irish international was in place to meet Jon Guthrie’s cross unmarked at the back post, and duly glance in the shot.

No more chances of note emerged after that as Northampton kept Exeter at bay to record the three points.

The Cobblers will seek to pick up back-to-back victories next time, when they travel to play Barnsley at Oakwell on Saturday (24/08).

Former MK Dons star Scott Twine has re-joined Bristol City and marked his second debut by scoring a late winner.

Twine had spent the second half of last season on loan with Bristol City and after some speculation linking him with a return to Ashton Gate, he made a full transfer last week, which the Championship side confirmed on Friday (16/08).

The 25-year-old signed a four-year contract with Bristol City upon completion of his move from Burnley, with the move being made for an undisclosed fee.

Moving to Bristol sees Twine reunited with his former MK Dons boss Liam Manning, who took over at Bristol City in November last year after the departure of Nigel Pearson and who initially brought Twine to the club on loan from Burnley in January 2024 after his initially planned season-long loan at Hull City was cut short.

Twine was named as a substitute for the Robins’ match against Millwall on Saturday, where he was brought on in the 62nd minute. He would duly score an 88th minute winner, handing the Robins their first win of the new season with the final goal of the game in an eventful 4-3 victory.

Head Coach Liam Manning told the club’s official website when the deal was confirmed that they had been working for a long time to bring him back and were delighted to make the deal happen.

He said, “It has been no secret the desire to bring Scott back to the club, and it has been a long time coming but we are delighted to get the deal over the line.

“We know the strengths he brings, and feel he has some unfinished business here at Ashton Gate.

“He loved his time here last season, and we are excited to have him back.”

Twine added, “It was a no brainer for me to come back and I am delighted it has finally been sorted.”

Twine, who plays as an attacking option, spent one season with MK Dons, playing for the club from Stadium MK in the 2021/22 season after joining from Swindon Town.

In his season with the Dons, Twine would score 20 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions for an MK Dons side that finished third in League One, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion to the Championship.

In his time at the Dons, Twine won the League One Player of the Season award from the EFL Awards while he was also named as MK Dons’ Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year.

The attacker would join Burnley for an undisclosed fee in 2022, but he made just 18 appearances for the Clarets, although his 3 goals would help Burnley win the Championship title in the 2022/23 season.

Twine spent the first half of last season on loan at Hull, scoring 4 times in 26 appearances before an initially planned season-long loan was cut short and he was sent instead to Bristol. He struck twice in ten appearances for the Robins in a loan stint that was hindered by injury.

MK Dons lost 2-0 to Colchester United as they were beaten through a pair of late goals by the Essex club.

The Dons missed several chances at 0-0 and would be duly undone when Arthur Read and former Dons loanee Jack Payne grabbed goals in the final stages to win the game for Danny Cowley’s side.

Defeat means the Dons are still looking for their first win of the new campaign, having lost their season opener to Bradford City and to Watford in the Carabao Cup.

MK Dons missed a strong chance to open the scoring in the first two minutes. A through-pass released Stephen Wearne, who rounded Matt Macey but could only go wide and to a more unfriendly shooting position. He elected to pass back to Tom Carroll, who fired a shot into the stands.

Both sides would have their moments in the remainder of the first half, but what minimal opportunities ended up on target were straight forward for Macey and Tom McGill in the respective goals. Macey did enough to put off Callum Hendry in the Dons’ best moment, while McGill made a straight-forward stop to keep out Payne.

In the second half, Hendry saw a shot blocked after being picked out by Gilbey before McGill made a stop to keep out Payne.

Much closer was Hendry, whose first-time shot from Joe Tomlinson’s cross was well blocked by Macey.

MK Dons then came very close with just under 15 minutes left to play. Wearne was able to run into space and saw a drive parried by Macey, when the loose ball fell to Gilbey. The former Colchester man, who scored in the equivalent fixture last season, duly hit a strike that beat Macey but crashed off the post, and the U’s keeper also kept out a Tomlinson free-kick.

But Colchester then took the lead. A counter attacking move released Read, who was able to run into space on the Dons’ left flank, elude the attentions of covering defender Jack Tucker and placed in a low shot just out of McGill’s reach.

Colchester nearly put things out of the Dons’ reach near the end of the 90 when McGill had to tip a deflected shot just over the top, before visiting debutant Connor Lemonhaigh-Evans missed the target with a header.

But MK Dons’ defeat was rubber-stamped in the fourth minute of stoppage time. McGill had saved an initial shot from Payne, but Colchester maintained pressure and Payne’s second attempt would find a way over McGill and in for 2-0 and game over.

MK Dons will look to bounce back with a first win of the season next time out when they host Carlisle United at Stadium MK.