Government heritage advisor Historic England has published a 176-page celebration of Stevenage, in honour of the 75^th birthday of Britain’s first post-war new town.

The book credits Stevenage town centre as being one of the earliest and most influential pedestrian developments of its type in the world, and looks in detail at its planning, development and design influences, as well as its enduring significance and survival.

However the redevelopment and expansion of the Hertfordshire town, under the New Towns Act, created significant local opposition. When minister for town and country planning Lewis Silkin arrived at the town to defend the government’s plans in the 1940s, campaigners put up signs at the station changing its name to “Silkingrad”.

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