New images of Luton Town Football Club’s future Power Court stadium have been revealed after the Hatters’ detailed planning application for the 25,00-seat ‘landmark’, a music venue and a hotel was made public by the council.
The plans will need to be put to the vote of councillors, with a date for that yet to be confirmed, but if approval is granted, as expected, the stadium is planned to be ready in 2027.
The application is for a ‘traditional four-stand English football stadium’ aimed at ‘to ‘capturing the spirit and atmosphere of the club’s current Kenilworth Road stadium’, though the designs, which keep the unique halo floodlighting, are thoroughly modern and have been going down a storm with fans.
Three images of what the Hatters’ reimagined 25,000-capacity home will look like were released earlier this month, with CEO Gary Sweet saying at the time that architects, designers and engineers had “have “pushed the boundaries beyond the norm in order to remain loyal to our original desired look and feel and have incorporated more unique cultural characteristics that will make this a familiar home for us all.”
The new images alongside the detailed plans have promised design to create an intense atmosphere for players and fans.
The plans, put together by infrastructure consulting firm AECOM on behalf of Luton Town, state: “A key element of the design brief was to reflect the character and spirit of the club’s much-loved stadium at Kenilworth Road. Kenilworth Road is idiosyncratic and reflects its piecemeal development.
“The new stadium design pays homage to Kenilworth Road by having each main stand being unique. The stadium has been designed in a visual manner which is broken into smaller volumes, each with its own distinct character, also tying the stadium to the surrounding urban fabric. The new layout allows for a generous public space directly in front of the west stand.
“This opens up new and improved vistas looking to the open green space of St Mary’s church and churchyard. The stadium has also reduced in height since the previously consented scheme and the mass of the halo has been reduced.
“The scale of the stadium is less dominant when perceived from the surrounding area, especially St Mary’s Church. The corners to the stadium have also been chamfered to open up the site further and to reduce the height of the roof in relation to St Mary’s. The new stadium will be an iconic landmark at the heart of the town.”
The plans add: ‘This planning application represents a critical milestone in the delivery of a major regeneration objective for Luton Borough Council, for both residents and local businesses. It is also a key milestone in the Club’s efforts to secure a new home and a move away from the much-loved Kenilworth Road.
‘The ultimate delivery of a new stadium has been a key focus for the club’s directors for many years. Beginning with an extensive site-selection process, complex land assembly and more recently involving a wholesale learning exercise as the club experienced promotion from the Championship and a season in the Premier League, the club is now in the best possible position to move forward.’
Also confirmed is an outline application for a standalone 1,800-capacity music venue and 100-150 bed hotel. And until the music venue is built, the area is planned to be used as a fan zone for 1,500 to 1,800 football fans on match days.
There is also scope for the stadium itself to host up to three major music events a year over the summer period, plus other sporting events, such as boxing, with local fighter Linus Udofia recently making no secret of his aim to put the gloves on inside the new home of his beloved Hatters.
The documents submitted by the club have said that, ‘the proposals will transform this key site to an active, vibrant and attractive gateway to the town centre.’
A new ‘west plaza’ will also be created between the proposed hotel and the stadium, which will become new public space within the heart of the town for Lutonians to enjoy on non-match days.
The stadium will also include retail and commercial units on the ground floor. One of these will be a new club shop and ticket office, but there will also be a pub and a café in the west stand. Smaller kiosk type retail outlets will be in the south with two larger tenanted retail opportunities to the east. And a commercial unit on the second floor is designed to be a community sports facility, with a community sports deck spanning the entirety of the east stand on the third floor.
All of the documents that were submitted by the club and their development arm, 2020 Developments, are now available for fans to pour over, and they have already been excitedly sharing the new vision for Luton Town’s future home.
The Lutonian has looked through the extensive documents that make up the application, so you don’t have to, and picked out some other key elements that may help you understand what is being proposed and why…
Why have new plans been submitted?
When plans for Power Court were originally unveiled in 2016, the Hatters played their football in League Two, which is the fourth division of English football. Two year earlier they had just recovered from five years in the non-league.
So, the stadium was to be initially built to a 17,500-capacity, with room to grow to 23,000. But the club’s decade of success on the pitch, which last year saw them become the first-ever club to go from the non-league to the Premier League, meant that the lucrative financial rewards of a season in football’s top flight enabled the club to think bigger and refresh their plans.
Consent was granted in 2019 was for outline permission at Power Court in the heart of the town centre. That was the major hurdle to achieving the dream of a new stadium, which confirmed for the first time ever that the club had permission to build a stadium.
But detailed plans were always required to put more meat on the bones. Then the Covid pandemic hit, Brexit and other economic challenges, plus changes in things like shopping habits (as there is a retail element to the plans) meant a rethink. There was also a sister development planned at Newlands Park at junction 10 of the M1 motorway, which was to provide a retail and leisure gateway to the town.
But the major socio-economic changes meant these plans were no longer viable, so Luton Town sold the land. The money generated, plus the financial boost of being in the Premier League have led to these reshaped plans, confirming the increased capacity of the new stadium, which Hatters chairman David Wilkinson called “Bigger, better, more ambitious, more beautiful’.
The submission of these detailed plans also confirms the continued commitment to build a music venue and hotel, as part of the regeneration of the area, which has for decades been a derelict and toxic former power plant site.
Economy
It is expected that the proposals will significantly contribute towards Luton’s local economy, creating approximately 1,200 jobs across the town, while stimulating regeneration and boosting the local economy, such as through large capacity music concerts within the stadium itself.
The environmental statement says, ‘In short, the redevelopment of Power Court will rejuvenate and regenerate the town centre to the benefit of the local people, environment and economy. The current hybrid application has focused on creating a proposal that will benefit Lutonians and the new residents of Luton’s newest quarter.’
Will the stadium just be used for Luton Town matches?
No. The stadium’s main purpose will be for Luton Town’s home football matches, but the plans also state: ‘The target is to ensure that the stadium functions as a destination for a range of events that are scalable and cater for different segments of the local community, extending the range of stadium uses beyond simply football.’
That could see the stadium also host International age-group fixtures (such England under-21s), international women’s fixtures, Luton Town youth and women’s games, junior community post-season tournaments, other sports events, music concerts, other community sports, community events, such as Luton carnival), conferences, banqueting events, exhibitions, corporate product launches, small music and entertainment performances (such as comedy).
What if you don’t like sport?
The club has confirmed proposals to build a 1,800-capacity music venue and a hotel. The town currently has small music venues, in The Castle and The Bear Club, but does not have a venue to attract larger acts, which this summer’s Radio 1 Big Weekend – featuring Coldplay and Raye – demonstrated that Luton can do. If filled to its full potential, the music venue would be of similar capacity to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and therefore will be the biggest indoor music venue in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
There will also be number of public realm improvements for the benefit of all Lutonians and visitors. A separate planning application has already been submitted to re-route the River Lea within the Power Court site, so that it will run parallel to St Mary’s Road, creating further areas for public enjoyment within the centre of Luton.
The plans state: ‘The public realm of the Power Court site looks to bring the spirit of Kenilworth Road into a new and central location of Luton.
‘Both the River Lea and Luton Town Football Club have a long a rich history within the town. The River Lea and the football club are at the heart of Luton and on the Power Court site they are joined together.
‘The opening up of the River Lea within the Power Court site is a further example of how intertwined the club and its stadium are with the Luton’s industry and heritage.
‘Luton’s long heritage of hat-making and brickwork factory buildings will reflect in the new site materiality and graphic language, bringing the past, present, and future together for a sustainable and enjoyable public realm.
‘The Power Court site is uniquely placed to extend and regenerate Luton town centre. It can bring life and economic value back to an underused area.
‘The central location creates an opportunity for the site and football club to enhance and revitalise the centre of Luton. Links from the town centre through the site and the adjoining public spaces will be developed together as a cohesive public realm.
‘These spaces and connections will support the economic viability of the area through an attractive, safe, and legible environment that encourages visitors.
‘The development introduces a main connection into the site from St Mary’s Road, creating a clear legible route from the town centre to stadium entrance. This connection invites visitors coming from the adjacent shopping area and Luton town centre.
‘A large pedestrianised public realm space, the area has flexibility for busy match days as well as space for retail and restaurant spill out cultivating an opportunity for a vibrant street scene.’
Not included in these plans, but with proposals remaining unchanged from the planning consent granted in 2022, is up to 1,200 residential units within six blocks, plus the food, drink and retail space. These will be part of a separate planning application.
Why build a new stadium at all?
Luton Town, which has been based at Kenilworth Road, Luton since 1905, has long-held aspirations to develop a new football stadium within the town.
The Hatters had leased their current Kenilworth Road home from Luton Council, but it now owns the entire stadium after acquiring various elements between 2015 and 2018. Despite a £13million upgrade to rebuild the Bobbers Stand last year in the run up to the 2023/24 season to meet Premier League standards, the stadium no longer meets the needs of the club. There is no room to expand as the stadium is situation in a tight space with terraced houses.
That means the club’s opportunities to generate revenue are limited and means they cannot compete, financially, with their rivals.
The design and access statement within the submitted plans states: ‘A new stadium at Power Court will increase the club’s chances of reaching and remaining in the Premier League as its wealth will be supported by higher incomes from ticketing, sponsorships, retail sales, hospitality, banqueting and food & beverage outlets – as well as an increase in income from additional, non-football events held at the stadium.
‘The physical constraints of Kenilworth Road, packed in among rows of terraced houses in Bury Park, make it impossible for the club to grow, and in turn limits the positive effect a successful Luton Town Football Club could have in helping to regenerate the town centre.
‘This is the reason a club like Luton Town necessarily needs to increase the size of its stadium to a minimum of 25,000 seats and develop facilities to improve its commercial offering, attracting both match-day and non-match-day spend – something that is simply not possible at Kenilworth Road.
‘In addition to the measurable financial benefits to the club and to the town, there will also be a strong statement of ambition and modernity for all as the wide visibility of Power Court will provide a identifiable representation of the town.’
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