WHEN Lord William Beveridge presented his ambitious plans for a post-war Britain to the government in 1942, you wonder if he ever envisioned the scale of what was to come.

In his report, he explained how he wanted one place in particular to be the shining example of his new, modern Britain. That place was Newton Aycliffe.

Lord Beveridge saw its potential. There was a munitions factory, used by the Aycliffe Angels, that would become surplus to requirements after the war and plenty of available farmland to build on.

It could so easily have become an abandoned wasteland.

But after the Second World War, companies began to move to Newton Aycliffe, including Great Lake Chemicals, which retained the famous munitions factory until its demolition in 2004.

Eaton Axles and BIP were two of the largest employers of Aycliffe residents until the 1980s, with Union Carbide, Standard Telephone and Cables, Sanyo, Flymo, 3M and Ineos also moving in.

Today, the park is home to various companies, more than 250 of them, including car parts maker Gestamp Tallent, the Husqvarna Group, which makes lawnmowers, acrylics firm Lucite and supermarket Lidl.

Those based at the site continue to make positive headlines. Last month alone, Ebac began producing washing machines, Finley Structures announced a £19m deal with Lincoln University to add to its many other contracts this year, and the new South Durham University Technical College opened to help nurture the next generation of workers.

And in ROF 59, there is a perfect reminder of Aycliffe Business Park’s wartime past, but with a modern, happier twist.

The site - Royal Ordnance Factory 59 in full - was the former base for Presswork Metals and had stood empty for six years until it was bought by Finley Structures.

More than £1m was spent on turning the building into a community leisure facility, featuring an activity centre, climbing wall, bar and restaurant.

While work took place, John Finley discovered that his mother, grandmother, and aunties had been among the munitions factory workers, demonstrating that as the business park expanded, its historic routes were never too far from people’s minds.

And it isn’t just businesses, or now families, who have wanted to see what Newton Aycliffe has to offer.

The town, and its business park, has played host to many important visitors over the years.

Winston Churchill was one of the first, visiting workers who were filling shells and assembling detonators for Britain’s war efforts.

The Queen visited the town in 1960, when there were 70 firms on the Aycliffe industrial estate, employing 4,000 workers.

Fast forward more than four decades, Tony Blair and George Bush were paying a visit. At that stage, the business park had the likes of Filtronic, Electrolux and Norsk Hydro on site.

And only last year, David Cameron and George Osborne were present for perhaps the town’s greatest success story.

Hitachi’s new £82m factory, test track and research centre arrived in Newton Aycliffe, on a site only a few hundred yards from where Robert Stephenson and Co had assembled the world’s first passenger steam engine 190 years ago.

Train building was coming home.

The then Prime Minister claimed: “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” It was a feeling shared by many across the North-East.

The Japanese company initially spoke about plans for a 730-strong workforce. Come the new year, there will be more than 900 workers at the site, not forgetting all the others Hitachi is supporting through its supply chain.

Whether it be the days of the Aycliffe Angels filling shells or a multi-million pound investment in train building 70 years on, the importance of the town’s workers has always been evident, even if the scale has grown substantially.

When The Northern Echo spoke to Hitachi’s managing director, Karen Boswell, as the company prepared to open its new factory, she talked of the legacy she wanted to create.

“I am quite clear about Newton Aycliffe being the manufacturing hub for customers right across Europe,” she said.

If Lord Beveridge thought his vision to rebuild a war torn Britain was ambitious, his plans ended up being the foundation for much more than that.