Edited sentence: As the first stage in that plan, the Government expanded the boundaries of the designated area, adding large green-field expansion sites to the east and west that were to be developed by 2015.He appointed English Partnerships (EP) to do so, taking planning controls away from Milton Keynes Borough Council and making EP the statutory planning authority.In January 2004, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the Government's plan to double the population of Milton Keynes by 2026.In June 2004, Milton Keynes Partnership Committee (MKPC) was created by the Government and was a committee of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the national housing and regeneration agency for England.Its functions were folded back into the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), with Milton Keynes Council handling planning permission for established areas of MK.MKPC was created to ensure a co-ordinated approach to planning and delivery of growth and development in the ‘new city’.Milton Keynes Partnership was disbanded in 2011, holding its last meeting in March of that year.The more detailed article expands on the details of their proposals.Their proposal for the next phase of expansion moves away from grid squares to large-scale, mixed use, higher-density development