Planned communityA planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more organic fashion. The term new town refers to planned communities of the new towns movement in particular, mainly in the United Kingdom. It was also common in the European colonization of the Americas to build according to a plan either on fresh ground or on the ruins of earlier Native American villages.
BanburyBanbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are motorsport, car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing and printing. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility (Jacobs Douwe Egberts), built in 1964.
Bletchley ParkBletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following 1883 for the financier and politician Sir Herbert Leon in the Victorian Gothic, Tudor, and Dutch Baroque styles, on the site of older buildings of the same name. During World War II, the estate housed the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers - most importantly the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers.
LeicesterLeicester (ˈlɛstər ) is a city, unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands. Its population was 368,600 in 2021, increased by 38,800 ( 11.8%) from around 329,800 in 2011. The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it the 11th most populous in England, and the 13th most populous in the United Kingdom.
LutonLuton (ˈluːtən) is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census, the Luton/Dunstable urban area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, had a population of 286,450. The town is situated on the River Lea, about north-north-west of London. It is north-west of Hertford, south of Bedford and south-east of Milton Keynes. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settlement on the river, from which Luton derives its name.
NorthamptonNorthampton (nɔːrˈθæmptən) is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, situated on the River Nene, approximately north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. It is the historic county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; the population of its urban area was recorded as 245,899 in the 2021 census. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates to the Bronze Age, Romans and Anglo-Saxons.
History of Milton KeynesThis history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milton Keynes is the largest settlement and only city in Buckinghamshire, founded in 1967. At the 2021 census, the population of its urban area was estimated to have exceeded 256,000. In the 1960s, the UK Government decided that a further generation of new towns in the South East of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London.
St AlbansSt Albans (sənt_ˈɔːlbənz) is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman road of Watling Street for travellers heading north and became the city of Verulamium. It is within the London commuter belt and the Greater London Built-up Area. St Albans takes its name from the first British saint, Alban.
HertfordshireHertfordshire (ˈhɑrtfərdʃɪər or -ʃər ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region. Hertfordshire covers . It derives its name – via the name of the county town of Hertford – from a hart (stag) and a ford, as represented on the county's coat of arms and on the flag.
Luton AirportLondon Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by Luton Borough Council, and operated by London Luton Airport Operations Ltd (LLAOL). An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938. During the Second World War, the airport was used by fighters of the Royal Air Force. Commercial activity and general aviation flight training at Luton resumed during 1952.