(informally and in planning documents, "New City") was to be the biggest yet, with a target population of 250,000, in a "designated area" of 21883 acre. The name "Milton Keynes" was taken from that of an existing village on the site.

On 23 January 1967, when the formal "new town designation order" was made, the area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages. The site was deliberately located equidistant from London,