Name revealed for new Stevenage development as work begins

Council leader Cllr Richard Henry revealed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the new development will be called Claxton House, honouring Stevenage’s former chief engineer.

Eric Claxton was involved in developing Stevenage new town from the very start, and worked for Stevenage Development Corporation for 25 years.

His influence can still be seen in the segregated cycleways around the town, ensuring cyclists and cars are separated. 

Cllr Henry said it is “fantastic” to see work starting on the Swingate site, and “to push the button on SG1”, a scheme which is a key part of the ongoing £1 billion regeneration. 

Work is under way at the Claxton House site in Stevenage When completed, the full SG1 project will include more than 1,800 homes, 3,500 square metres of retail and commercial floorspaces, a garden square, a new park, and a school. The Swingate development is part of that scheme.

Kevin Cowin, development director at Mace, said he is “over the moon” that work is underway on the Swingate site. 

He said: “What people don’t see is what’s going on in the economy, and what it takes to get this far.

“We spent 18 months to two years developing a masterplan – one that we consulted on and got good buy-in on from stakeholders and local people. There’s very clear support for what we’re trying to do.”

Work begins at the former Swingate House site - which collapsed during the demolition process It has been a rocky road at times for the SG1 development, with part of the old Swingate House building collapsing onto the street during demolition in 2022.

While Stevenage Borough Council say the health and safety executive found no fault on its part, the wider context made the project a challenge too, with skyrocketing inflation and construction costs.

But Mr Cowin said Mace “absolutely [did] not” ever consider pulling out of the development. He said: “It was more a case of working creatively with the council, saying ‘how do we make this happen?’”

Construction has now begun Cllr Henry said the council was “constantly meeting” Mace to discuss the project during those “difficult times”, and continued: “We were always confident that we would build out Swingate, and the next, and the next.”

Now, the aim is to complete Claxton House in a timely manner, with a target of finishing work in early 2027. The hope, Mr Cowin said, is that it will bring “high-quality” purpose-built homes to the town centre – rather than the office-to-flat conversions seen in other towns.

He added that the flats “are very much targeted at first-time buyers, that’s the market in this first block”.

Other housing tenures – including housing deemed affordable according to the government definition of the term – will be included in the wider SG1 scheme, and Cllr Henry noted that the council has built around 500 council homes “for Stevenage people” in recent years.

Mr Cowin was keen to stress it is “absolutely not the case” that Mace are building homes for commuters.

Pointing to Stevenage’s blossoming science and defence sectors, he said: “There’s huge new employment coming to this town. New homes are needed as part of that. We’re confident this will be a popular development.”

The Claxton House development won’t include any new parking for its residents, although the adjacent Swingate car park will reopen once the building work is complete.

But Cllr Henry said there are “ample spaces” in existing town centre car parks, with “only around two third of the car parking in use” even at peak times according to Mr Cowin.

He said: “We’re not providing new car parking because we don’t believe it’s needed. Part of it’s about encouraging people to use different modes of transport.”

Mace are hoping, though, that residents of the two-bedroom flats at Claxton House will be able to get parking permits, with details still to be ironed out.