The members of Stevenage First, the body responsible for the development, have signed a memorandum of understanding to help drive forward the £1bn scheme.

The masterplan includes a new railway station, 3,600 new homes, 65,000 sq m of office space, 24,000 sq m of retail space, new hotels and a community hub.

Stevenage Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and the local enterprise partnership have agreed to push forward with the regeneration, having already secured £18.8m of funding for Network Rail to build a fifth platform at Stevenage Station in 2020.

Hertfordshire’s local enterprise partnership also helped to secure £15m of government funding for Stevenage First to develop plans for the regeneration.

Plans for the scheme were first unveiled in June last year.

Stevenage First chairman Andrew Percival said he wanted the scheme to be “a leader and innovator for urban regeneration”, and added that the signing of memorandum marked “a major milestone” for the project.

“By working jointly as partners, we can build on previous regeneration attempts and ensure that we deliver for Stevenage, Hertfordshire and the South East,” he said.

“We have big ambitions which will take a while to put in place but there is a collective energy, confidence and determination for growth and change.”

Next steps for the project include plans for the complete refurbishment of Stevenage train station, which will also include opportunities for development on neighbouring sites.