United Kingdom – Stevenage

In August 1946, Stevenage was designated the first New Town under the New Towns Act, one of eight locations around London seen as a solution to London’s post-war housing crisis. The first housing developments were completed in 1950. 76 years later and Stevenage Borough Council has embarked on an ambitious €1.2 billion (£1 billion) 20-year regeneration project to revitalise the town and surrounding areas. The continued growth of the life sciences cluster alongside the aerospace and defence technology sectors will be a key part of the town’s future. Already, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Airbus (aerospace) and MBDA (defence) employ over 5,000 people.