The southerly tip of Hatfield is a largely suburban swathe of the town; dominated largely by the University of Hertfordshire campus that sits directly south of the town’s centre. This area of Hatfield largely developed in response to the 1946 postwar New Towns Act which designated sites for suburban renewal in vital satellite towns in the London locale. Whilst Hatfield’s history goes back to the Saxon period; the town was chosen as apost war development site due to its proximity to London and the opening of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, a major employer. Properties in the Hatfield South locale are largely suburban builds from the 1940s and beyond, ranging from apartments to family homes.

The south of Hatfield developed alongside its close New Town neighbour Welwyn Garden City, with the two towns being labelled as ‘twin communities’. The site of Hatfield was chosen in particular due to the de Havilland Aircraft Company, founded by Geoffrey de Havilland in 1920, de Hallivand purchased land in Hatfield in 1930. By 1949, it’s estimated that the aircraft company employed 65% of the town’s population. As such, in alignment with the New Towns Act, the area of south of Hatfield commenced construction in the late 1950s.

This engineering focus is reflected in the University of Hertfordshire’s origins, which began as Hatfield Technical College in 1948. Originally, Hatfield Technical College (which later became Hatfield Polytechnic and now the University of Hertfordshire) was opened for the express educational purposes of training aerospace engineers! The university now offers a wide range of courses, but its engineering roots are still alive and strong.

The housing in this region ranges from apartment blocks to mid-century terraced suburban properties, at an average price range of £200,000 (for apartments) and £600,000 (for homes). The Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan 2016-2033 has proposed massive domestic development schemes to the entirety of Hatfield, including several mixed-used developments located near the University of Hertfordshire’s campus in the south of Hatfield!