Editing Stevenage (section)

===Stevenage town centre===
The pedestrianised town centre was the first purpose-built traffic-free shopping zone in [[UK|Britain]], taking its inspiration from the [[Lijnbaan]] in Rotterdam,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Pedestrian and the City |last=Hass-Klau |first=Carmen |year=2014 |publisher= Routledge |page=87 }}</ref> and was officially opened in 1959 by the [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Architectural guide to Cambridge and East Anglia since 1920 |last=McKean |first=Charles |year=1982 |publisher=[[Royal Institute of British Architects|ERA Publications Board, RIBA Eastern Region]] |isbn=978-0-907598-01-5 |page=174 }}</ref> A landmark in the town centre is the [[Stevenage Clock Tower|clock tower]] and ornamental pool. Nearby is ''Joyride'', a mother and child sculpture by [[Franta Belsky]].

Next to the Town Garden, the Church of St Andrew and St George is an example of modern church design and has housed Stevenage Museum in its crypt since 1976. The church is a Grade 2 listed building. It is also the largest parish church to have been built in England since World War Two. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother laid the foundation stone in July 1956 and was also present at the consecration of the Bishop of St Alban's, the Right Reverend [[Michael Gresford Jones|Michael Gresford-Jones]], on Advent Sunday 27 November 1960. The frame is constructed from a continuous pour of concrete into moulds, creating [[interlacing arches]] and leaving no apparent joints. There are twelve [[Purbeck Marble|Purbeck-marble]] columns around the high altar and the external walls are clad in panels faced with Normandy pebble. The campanile houses the loudspeakers for an electro-acoustic carillon. A popular sculpture, 'The Urban Elephant' by [[Andrew Burton (sculptor)|Andrew Burton]], was commissioned in 1992.

Although revolutionary for its time, the town centre is showing signs of age and, in 2005, plans were revealed for a major regeneration to take place over the next decade. Details are still being debated by the council, landowners and other interested parties.
Multimillion-pound plans to redevelop Stevenage town centre were scrapped owing to the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the lack of interested private-sector partners.<ref name="thecomet.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage_town_centre_redevelopment_plans_scrapped_1_1389325|title=Stevenage town centre redevelopment plans scrapped|first=Richard|last=Young|date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> On 24 May 2012 Stevenage Borough Council announced that a £250m scheme for the shopping area has been pulled by Stevenage Regeneration Limited (SRL) because of the continuing adverse economic conditions.<ref name="thecomet.net"/> The plans, which included realigning streets, moving the bus station and building a new department store, cinema, hotel, restaurants, and flats, had been given council planning approval in January 2012.<ref name="thecomet.net"/>