Council still aiming to announce meeting date for Hatters' plans before April ends

An announcement over the date for the meeting to determine Luton Town's planning applications could still be made in the next few days.
Power CourtPower Court
Power Court

Earlier this month, Luton Council had stated that it “should” be in a position to reveal the Development Control Committee meeting date to determine the schemes for a Power Court stadium and enabling office/retail/leisure scheme at Newlands Park by the end of April.

Hatters fans, frustrated by the time it has taken since the club first submitted the applications back in August 2016, have been left wondering if an update will be forthcoming as hoped, with just days to go before the month’s end.

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On Tuesday afternoon however, the council told this website that an April annoucement was still hoped for.

A council spokesman said: “We are aiming to make an announcement by the end of the month for a date when the Development Control Committee will determine the applications. We are hopeful this date will be by the end of summer. We have, however, already made clear the outstanding work that needs to be done before the applications can be determined.”

The council has previously stated to us that in order for the applications to be determined before the end of the summer, the council would need all of the following to have been finished:

> Technical reports to be completed and published on the planning application portal;

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> Public consultation on the documents for about a month;

> 2020 Developments given an opportunity to respond to any comments.

Luton Town and Capital and Regional met last Wednesday to discuss their differences of opinion on the Hatters’ applications.

While claiming to be supportive of the stadium, C&R are opposing Newlands Park due to the retail impact on the town centre.

Both the Hatters and C&R have told this newspaper the content of the meeting will remain private.