Work on Luton’s £136 million town centre regeneration scheme The Stage is expected to restart early in the new year after the council confirmed it is close to receiving final safety approval.
The Stage, located on the former Bute Street car park, is one of the cornerstones of Luton’s £1.7 billion town centre regeneration plan. It will deliver three residential towers, a community performance hub, retail and leisure spaces, and new public areas aimed at revitalising the town centre.
Construction on the project was halted pending regulatory clearance from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) following the introduction of stricter post-Grenfell building safety laws. The confirmation of progress and secure funding marks a major step forward for one of the council’s most high-profile developments.
Speaking at the latest scrutiny finance review group meeting, the council’s director of property and infrastructure, Roger Kirk, said the authority’s relationship with the BSR had significantly improved in recent weeks.
He told councillors he was “pleased to report that we’ve established a very constructive and open relationship now with the Building Safety Regulator and all the signs are that we will have Building Safety Regulator sign off on the 7 November.”
Mr Kirk said the approval would allow construction to begin immediately after the festive break. “That means that’ll be start work in earnest as soon as Christmas holidays are over. [On the] 5th of January will be on site again,” he said.
He added that the council had been working closely with contractor Willmott Dixon to control costs during the delay saying: “In the meantime, we’ve managed to closely with Wilmott Dixon to keep the project within its existing budget and the contract will be led at the cost agreed by executive previously,” he said.
When asked by committee chair Cllr David Franks if the £20 million government Levelling Up grant for the scheme was safe, Mr Kirk confirmed: “Safe and secure, yes.”
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