South Midlands


The South Midlands is a notional area of England,, with no official status nor consensus definition. According to [|one definition], it is the southern portion of the East Midlands Region together with the northern portion of the South East England Region and the western portion of the East of England Region. Various organisations also use the name South Midlands to refer to an area that is specific to their own way of dividing up the country. One major usage is as a label for one of the areas identified by HM Government for urban development.

Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area

For planning purposes, the Government refers to an area centred on the Borough of Milton Keynes as the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area. This area comprises the whole of Bedfordshire, the whole of Northamptonshire, and parts of Buckinghamshire and may be understood to extend into neighbouring Harborough district in south Leicesteshire and Rutland and Rugby. It straddles the boundaries of other regions of England, including portions of the East Midlands, East of England and South East England.
The main settlements are Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden, Bedford and Luton. A report in 2002 found that: "The most successful economies are those of Milton Keynes and Northampton. Bedford, Corby and the Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis area are in need of regeneration."

Other examples