Luton Town Football Club is on the verge of its most significant victory yet, as plans for a new 25,000-capacity stadium are set to be decided tonight by the council.
That’s the view of the longest-running and now award-winning Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Podcast, which has followed progress of the planning journey in the eight seasons it has been broadcasting.
Now, a detailed planning application for a new home for the Hatters at Power Court, submitted by the club’s property arm, 2020 Developments, has been recommended for approval by council planning officers ahead of this evening’s Development Management Committee meeting.
Planning approval would be a landmark moment for a club that has defied the odds, from near collapse in 2003 and 2008, a drop into the non-league and then becoming the first ever club to get promoted through the leagues from the Conference to the Premier League.
On the pitch this season, after getting relegated back to the Championship, the Hatters are currently in the grip of an away-day seven-game losing streak, but the Power Court project is about more than just the here and now of football results, though planning consent could be a significant step towards a future of financial sustainability for the club.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Podcast, host Kevin Harper, captured the magnitude of the moment for supporters, saying: “If everything goes according to plan—and we’ve got no reason to think it won’t, then it’s the biggest victory in the 2020 era.
“Regardless of the fact that we’ve been a Premier League club, regardless of the fact we’ve won three promotions, regardless of the fact that we’ve won a Johnstone Paint Trophy, you can put them all together and this still outstrips all of it.
“Our club will be financially sustainably secure for the very, very, very long term. And, whether we win on Friday (against Derby County), whether we lose on Friday or whether we draw on Friday – and let’s hope it is the former and we win on Friday and go on a winning run – none of it is as significant as getting a win on Monday night.”
But the project is also the centrepiece of a larger redevelopment project designed to breathe new life into Luton’s town centre. The plans include a an 1,800-capacity music venue , food and drink outlets, a hotel, commercial, retail and community spaces, and the creation of a public plaza through the deculverting of the River Lea. And by creating new jobs, it will ensure Luton becomes a destination for residents and visitors alike.
That is a boost that couldn’t come at a more critical time for the town. Recent challenges, including the announcement of job losses at Vauxhall and the imminent closure of key town centre shops like WH Smith, the Post Office and The Entertainer, have deepened a sense of economic and cultural concern.
Appearing on the supporters’ podcast, The Lutonian’s James Cunliffe highlighted how approval of the football stadium and surrounding development has the potential to turn the tide.
“It is so significant for the town to have that stadium built, and particularly it’s been an awful month for the town in general,” he said, adding: “We’ve had the news about Vauxhall. Devastating. We’ve had, to a lesser degree, but still difficult for some people, shops in this town centre all pulling out, big ones. WH Smith, the Post Office is going, and it just feels like a period of decline.
“So to have this place (stadium) that we’ve seen – and everybody loves the pictures, everybody loves the plans – and that is what’s going to go there (Power Court), you just need this final say-so.”
The proposal has been years in the making. First unveiled in 2016, the stadium plans reflect Luton Town Football Club’s commitment to a sustainable future for the team and the community, fulfilling a vision set out when the 2020 fan consortium rescued the Hatters from extinction and took ownership in 2008.
Speaking on BBC Three Counties Radio, Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Chairman, Tony Murray, said: “A lot of hard work has gone into this. It’s something that 2020 have always been wanting to do. It’s been unfortunately that it hasn’t happened before with things like Covid, but I am very confident that we’ll get there eventually and I am looking forward to taking my seat in the new ground.”
The club achieved outline planning permission in 2019, along with a supporting development at Newlands Park, near junction 10 of the M1 motorway, which has since been sold, having the subject of a protracted battle due to objections from Capital and Regional, the former owners of Luton’s shopping centre, The Mall, now known as Luton Point.
A High Court judge eventually threw out their judicial review application before it got to the High Court, but then the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and rises in prices caused significant further delays.
But last term’s historic promotion to the Premier League turbo-boosted the club’s coffers and meant they could redesign the stadium as a 25,000-seat arena, instead of the initial 17,500-seat stadium first proposed in 2016.
Murrary added: “It’s absolutely vital for the future of the football club.”
If approval is granted the hope is that the new stadium will be built by 2027, as preparatory works have already begun on the site.
Luton Town and 2020 Developments Chief Executive Officer, Gary Sweet, told the club’s website: “This planning committee date is another defining milestone in the delivery of our long-held plans for a new stadium. With its unique design and key characteristics we’ve incorporated and brought across from our much-loved Kenilworth Road, it really is tremendously exciting to address members of the planning committee and, hopefully, gain their formal approval”.
2020 Developments Chief Operating Officer Michael Moran said: “Having already secured outline planning consent in 2019, we have worked through a complete re-design of the stadium concept alongside bringing forward the wider site where we are busy now with groundworks and putting the necessary infrastructure in place. After this evening it’s hoped the goal of having an iconic stadium in the heart of the town centre is one step closer.”
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