Councillors voted to approve Network Rail’s plans at a town hall meeting last night.

The 400,000 sq ft building will be built on the site of a former hockey stadium, revitalising an underused corner of central Milton Keynes.

The centre will bring together teams spread across numerous sites under one eco-friendly roof. Network Rail plans to house up to 3,000 employees at the centre.

Construction is expected to start in August with the building scheduled to open in 2012.