Furious residents living in the shadow of a 59ft-tall bright red warehouse have criticised developers over the structure, which cannot even be used due to a planning dispute. The huge warehouse remains unoccupied until a landscaping disagreement is resolved by council officers, leaving locals in Great Holm, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, in a state of 'limbo'.
The Building and Its Approval
The building, which boasts 2,044 square metres of floor space, was constructed in January for Shurgard, the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Europe. However, Milton Keynes City Council has now refused a retrospective planning application for the landscaping around the six-storey structure. Consequently, an enforcement notice has been served after the steel frame was erected to its full height before greenery plans were approved.
Residents argue that there was limited consultation before the original approval, which was granted by a single Milton Keynes City Council officer under delegated powers in December 2024.
Residents' Reactions
Richard Turner, 69, who lives less than 100 metres from the proposed self-storage facility with his wife Yvonne, says it 'feels like it follows you around'. 'Every time we go out our front door, there's this 50ft red stripe right there,' he said. 'Recently, we've been pulling the blinds down so we can't see the top part. From a new buyer's point of view, if there were two properties, one with a giant red building nearby and one without, you're going to pick the one without. It reflects on the windows and cars have turned orange at certain points of the day. It's a monstrosity.'
The first application for the facility was lodged in May 2023, attracting more than 40 objections from residents and objections from the local parish council. In December 2023, a new application was submitted with proposals for 1,631 native thickets and 257 native hedges to mitigate the surroundings. However, many residents say they were not aware they needed to re-object to the second application, and the plans were approved in December 2024 by a single council officer.
Mr Turner, who has lived in his five-bedroom detached home for 24 years, said he had objected to the first application but was unaware of the second. He added: 'Developers can use the rules and regulations to their advantage, whereas the general public doesn't have as much information about planning processes. We don't understand how a single person could have approved something like this.'
Construction and Enforcement
In January 2026, construction of the building commenced above slab level without further landscaping approval, becoming visible from Great Holm, where the average house price ranges from £270,000 to £345,000. Jonathan Williams, 46, lodged an enforcement complaint with the council while other residents catalogued construction, including the use of a 60-metre crane. Council officers opened an enforcement investigation while Shurgard submitted a retrospective application for landscaping conditions.
However, the new plan outraged residents after the original 10.5-metre noise buffer was halved and plans to plant 1,631 trees and shrubs were reduced by 76 per cent to just 390. Last week, councillors refused the new application on the grounds that the proposed landscaping was 'insufficient in the context of the site and the character and appearance of the area.' The officers' report also stated that there were 'inconsistencies shown on the submitted plans when compared to the original application.'
Mr Williams, who has lived in his four-bedroom detached home for six years and can see the structure from his front windows, has been campaigning for change. He said: 'When the application was resubmitted with some modifications, call me a bit suspicious but I don't think many residents knew they had to object all over again. When the frame went on, it became apparent how huge and horrible this building is. The building would be less severe if it had a neutral, graceful colour. Other warehouse buildings at least blend into the sky. It is remarkable that a traffic-light red has been approved. It is too late now, we can only mitigate it and right now it's in limbo.'
Mr Williams added that he didn't believe planning processes are transparent enough for residents, while developers and property agencies are more knowledgeable of the system. He added: 'They put a plan in, it gets objections so they withdraw it, and put it back in. It's like they're playing a game to see if anyone notices. It used to be just trees and greenery here but now we have a blot on the landscape. It's an absolute shame and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Milton Keynes was built to be green.'
Further Resident Concerns
David Wardell, 80, has lived in the area for 26 years and said from his rear garden, all he could see was 'red'. He explained: 'We've started to plan to remodel our garden so that we don't have a line of sight of the building. It's forced us to do something like that. It's a big looming red thing and we're living in the shadow of it. The building should not have been approved in the first place. It shouldn't have been built so high and it should have been set much further back on the site. Then they'd have more places to put screening trees and greenery in front of it. There's not enough room there to put any real landscaping there whatsoever. I certainly wished our councillors had engaged with us. We believe there were only a few people who got notice of the second planning application. The founding fathers of Milton Keynes would be appalled.'
The self-storage building cannot be lawfully occupied until a compliant landscaping scheme is approved. However, on April 30, residents reported that new lettering branding the Shurgard name was erected on the side of the building despite the enforcement notice. The developer has six months to appeal or submit a revised scheme. Great Holm Parish Council, Milton Keynes City Council, and Shurgard were contacted for comment.
