The New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 as Dawley New Town, covering 9,100 acres (37 km²) of Dawley, Wenlock, Oakengates, Wellington Rural District and Shifnal Rural District.
Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, with the first homes on the new Sutton Hill housing estate being occupied in 1967.
Initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by the Birmingham-based John Madin Design Group.

The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres (49 km²) in 1968 (taking in the historic area of Ironbridge Gorge), which saw objections and a public inquiry take place.
 The Dawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order was made on 29 November 1968, extending the New Town area by 10,143 acres (41.05 km²) of "land lying within the urban districts of Oakengates and Wellington and the rural districts of Shifnal and Wellington".
This Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineer Thomas Telford who, in 1787, became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire.
Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City.

Most of the infrastructure was constructed from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s with the major housing and commercial development occurring over three decades up to the early 1990s when the Development Corporation was wound up to be replaced by the Commission for New Towns, later English Partnerships, and most of the property was handed over to the then Wrekin District Council.
Telford was now 25 years old and was firmly established as one of the most important towns in the region.

In 1983, after fierce opposition and three public enquiries, the M54 motorway was completed, connecting the town to the M6 and thence the rest of the UK's motorway network.
Other major roads are the A5, A518 and A442, which is commonly known as the Eastern Primary or EP, and is officially branded Queensway.

Many of the new town's residents were originally from the West Midlands conurbation, which includes Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall.
The vast majority of the council house tenants in Telford were rehoused from inner city Birmingham.
Some individuals still refuse to put Telford in their address, instead using the original local name (such as Wellington or Dawley) and often citing the existence of Town Councils as support for the argument "you can't live in a town in a town," e.g. Wellington (Town) Telford (Town).
The new town's residents who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s earned the unwanted nickname "overspill" from people living in the existing towns and villages.

In 2007, a £250 million regeneration plan for the town centre was announced, which will include the pedestrianisation of the road surrounding the shopping centre, and the creation of new cafés, bars and shops which will lead to 1,750 new jobs.
The reason for this expansion is that the original "centre" was only ever a shopping place with no real heart.
Since the "centre" closed early evening, there was no nightlife at all in the area, the only major local entertainment areas being in Oakengates and Wellington.

The first phase of the town centre development, named Southwater, was completed in 2014.
The official opening ceremony on 18 October 2014 included live music and fireworks.
The area comprises a refurbished library, various chain restaurants, Cineworld IMAX Cinema, bowling alley/arcade and a new multi-storey car park.
The New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 as Dawley New Town, covering 9,100 acres (37 km²) of Dawley, Wenlock, Oakengates, Wellington Rural District and Shifnal Rural District. Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, with the first homes on the new Sutton Hill housing estate being occupied in 1967. Initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by the Birmingham-based John Madin Design Group.
The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres (49 km²) in 1968 (taking in the historic area of Ironbridge Gorge), which saw objections and a public inquiry take place.  The Dawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order was made on 29 November 1968, extending the New Town area by 10,143 acres (41.05 km²) of "land lying within the urban districts of Oakengates and Wellington and the rural districts of Shifnal and Wellington". This Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineer Thomas Telford who, in 1787, became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire. Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City.
Most of the infrastructure was constructed from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s with the major housing and commercial development occurring over three decades up to the early 1990s when the Development Corporation was wound up to be replaced by the Commission for New Towns, later English Partnerships, and most of the property was handed over to the then Wrekin District Council. Telford was now 25 years old and was firmly established as one of the most important towns in the region.
In 1983, after fierce opposition and three public enquiries, the M54 motorway was completed, connecting the town to the M6 and thence the rest of the UK's motorway network. Other major roads are the A5, A518 and A442, which is commonly known as the Eastern Primary or EP, and is officially branded Queensway.
Many of the new town's residents were originally from the West Midlands conurbation, which includes Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall. The vast majority of the council house tenants in Telford were rehoused from inner city Birmingham. Some individuals still refuse to put Telford in their address, instead using the original local name (such as Wellington or Dawley) and often citing the existence of Town Councils as support for the argument "you can't live in a town in a town," e.g. Wellington (Town) Telford (Town). The new town's residents who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s earned the unwanted nickname "overspill" from people living in the existing towns and villages.
In 2007, a £250 million regeneration plan for the town centre was announced, which will include the pedestrianisation of the road surrounding the shopping centre, and the creation of new cafés, bars and shops which will lead to 1,750 new jobs. The reason for this expansion is that the original "centre" was only ever a shopping place with no real heart. Since the "centre" closed early evening, there was no nightlife at all in the area, the only major local entertainment areas being in Oakengates and Wellington.
The first phase of the town centre development, named Southwater, was completed in 2014. The official opening ceremony on 18 October 2014 included live music and fireworks. The area comprises a refurbished library, various chain restaurants, Cineworld IMAX Cinema, bowling alley/arcade and a new multi-storey car park.
Telford