Hatfield Aerodrome Site
Welwyn Hatfield is at the centre of one of the largest redevelopment programmes in the South East of England
The end of aircraft production at Hatfield in 1993 devastated the borough that had for decades been dependant on the aviation and aerospace industry. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has been a leading partner in the gigantic task of bringing about economic recovery and the replacement of thousands of lost jobs.
The council worked with the land owners to produce a masterplan to bring new skills and industry to Hatfield and regenerate the 800 acres of disused airfield. A key objective was that redevelopment should provide work and homes for local people.
The transformation of the former aerodrome into Hatfield Business Park and new housing areas is well underway. It has now become a vibrant commercial centre and a key location for new industries and education.
Major occupiers on the new Business Park include T-Mobile and Ocado. A new headquarters campus for the pharmaceutical company Eisai is under construction, as are new offices for Three Valleys Water. Over 7000 new jobs will eventually be provided.
There will also be around 1500 new homes on the former Aerodrome site, to add to the 700 new dwellings on adjoining land to the north, of which 30 per cent will be affordable accommodation offering rental or shared ownership to meet local housing needs.
A new primary school and community hall have opened on the site, while the University of Hertfordshire, now the borough's largest employer, opened its new de Havilland Campus on the former Aerodrome in 2003.
The construction of a neighbourhood centre, to be known as Parkhouse Court, was completed early in 2008, and this will provide local shopping facilities and food outlets as well as a children's day nursery.
One of several listed buildings of historic and architectural interest on the Aerodrome site, the former Comet Test Hangar, has been converted to a sports and leisure club. Two of the other listed buildings from the days of the de Havilland aircraft factory have been refurbished and extended to create a new police station for central Hertfordshire due to open in 2008.