Stevenage 80 at 80 afternoon tea: apply by 20 September

Stevenage residents who turn 80 this year, the same year the town marks 80 years since it was designated Britain’s first new town, are being invited to an afternoon tea in their honour. Stevenage Borough Council’s “80 at 80” event will be held in October, and applications close on Sunday 20 September. (Stevenage Borough Council, 30 July 2026)

The council describes it as “a special afternoon tea celebrating the people who have helped shape our town over the last eight decades”, with “an afternoon of tea, entertainment, conversation and celebration with fellow Stevenage residents”. Each successful applicant can bring one family member, friend or carer. The council has not published the exact date or venue on its news page beyond saying the tea takes place “this October”, so expect those details to follow with the ballot outcome.

Who can apply

To be considered you must, in the council’s words:

• be turning, or have turned, 80 between 1 January and 31 December 2026;
• live within Stevenage Borough;
• be willing and able to attend the celebration event.

Family members, friends and carers can complete the form on behalf of someone eligible, so if your parent or neighbour qualifies but does not use the internet, you can put their name forward. Anyone who would rather apply by phone, or needs help with the form, can call the council on 01438 242912. (Stevenage Borough Council)

Note the borough boundary. Stevenage Borough covers the town itself (SG1 and SG2 postcodes for the most part). Hitchin, Baldock, Knebworth and Walkern are in North Hertfordshire or East Hertfordshire and are outside the eligibility area, even though many people there think of Stevenage as their town.

Key dates

Places are limited. If more eligible people apply than there are seats, the council says applications “will be entered into a ballot”. Everyone who applies will be told the outcome in the week beginning Monday 21 September.

Councillor Myla Arceno, the council’s Cabinet member for Culture, Leisure and Wellbeing, said: “We are looking for people who turn 80 in 2026 to join this event and tell us their stories of life in Stevenage and meet others who have similar experiences of building lives in the town. We have so much to celebrate about our success story as a new town and this will be a wonderful event to mark this milestone.” (Stevenage Borough Council)

The council adds that photography and filming may take place on the day; anyone who would prefer not to appear can tell a member of staff.

Why 80

Stevenage was designated the first new town on 11 November 1946, under the New Towns Act passed that year to rehouse Londoners after wartime bombing and slum clearance. The plan was six neighbourhoods and homes for 60,000 people; the first new town family, the Sulzbachs, moved into 4 Broadview in 1951, and by the time the Development Corporation wound up in the 1980s the population had passed 75,000. (Stevenage Museum, Stevenage New Town)

Someone born in 1946 has therefore lived their whole life alongside the new town: old enough to remember the fields before the neighbourhoods went up, and to have watched the town centre, the Lister Hospital (1972) and the Gordon Craig Theatre (1974) arrive.

The rest of the Stevenage 80 autumn

The tea is one of several anniversary events still to come this year, all run or listed by the council:

• Three free heritage walks led by local historian Simon Speller, each 10am to 12 noon with a drink stop built in and no booking needed: Wednesday 9 September (Hertford Road, old and new, meeting at the Chequers pub), Tuesday 13 October (Woodfield and Forster’s Country, meeting at the Marquis of Granby) and Monday 9 November (the town centre, “the fight for the first pedestrian shopping centre and mid-20th century modernism”, meeting at Junction 7 Creatives). (Stevenage Borough Council events)
• Stevenage International Day on 12 September and the annual fireworks display on 5 November, both in the council’s 2026 events calendar. (Stevenage Borough Council, 21 May 2026)
• Community groups planning their own 80th anniversary events may be eligible for council funding; the council asks them to email events@stevenage.gov.uk. (Stevenage Borough Council, 21 May 2026)

What it means for you

• If you or a relative turns 80 this year and lives in the borough: apply before Sunday 20 September using the council’s online form, or ring 01438 242912. Applying early does not improve your odds, because it is a ballot if oversubscribed, but the form closes on the 20th.
• You do not need to be online: a family member, friend or carer can apply for you, and the phone line is there for anyone who prefers it.
• Expect to hear back in the week of 21 September, then keep October free.
• Getting there: the venue has not been announced on the council page; when it is, our Stevenage roadworks and travel page and things to do in Stevenage will have the practical detail for the day.