Craigavon, new town (built after 1966), Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon district, Northern Ireland, lying southwest of Belfast. Craigavon new town was developed under the New Towns Act of 1965 as a commercial, light industrial, and residential centre linking the older towns of Lurgan and Portadown. It was named after James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, the first prime minister (1921–40) of Northern Ireland. The new town’s planning concept aimed at creating an urban area set in the countryside with linear interior road patterns and easy external access. By the early 1980s Craigavon had become a major centre of economic development outside of Belfast. Pop. (2001) 57,651; (2011) 64,193.