Final number of comments on Hatters' schemes revealed

A couple of weeks ago the figure had stood at about 4,500, but a flood of comments ahead of the October 10 cut-off point has seen the final figure more than double.

A spokesman for the council said this morning: “Following the deadline for making representations, the Local Planning Authority has received just under 11,000 comments made in respect of one or both sites.

“Work has begun on recording the details of those who made comments, but given the number received, this will take some time to complete.

“Part of the recording process will be to identify whether there has been any duplicate and/or anonymous comment and to amalgamate those comments received from one household.”

If approved the Power Court application would see Hatters in a new 17,500-seater stadium where there would also be a music/entertainment venue, cafés/bars/restaurants, 500+ apartments, and hotel facilities.

The 40-acre Newlands Park proposal at M1 Junction 10 for offices, retail space and leisure amenities will help the Hatters finance the Power Court scheme.

An independent report into Luton Town’s plans to develop Power Court and Newlands Park has concluded that the schemes could jointly generate around £255m annually to the Luton economy from 2020.In addition the study, by KPMG, states that almost 10,500 additional full-time jobs will be created for the town.

Earlier this week we were the first to report how the owners of The Mall Luton have registered a “reluctant” challenge to Luton Town’s plans to develop Power Court and Newlands Park due to the potential harmful impact on the town centre.