Milton Keynes Shopping Centre first opened its doors to the public on August 9 1979. Not all the shops were opened at that time but gradually all the units were let. The formal opening was on September 25 1979, the ceremony was performed by the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
What did local people think about their new shopping centre?
"The impact of the shopping centre was fantastic, because we had to shop either in the surroundings, in Bletchley or Northampton or Luton. And then suddenly here we were, this brilliantly new, airy place opened, and two miles of shopping all around, and plenty of parking space, and of course it was like a miracle."

(©The Living Archive, People's History of Milton Keynes)

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