Diverse culture in Luton should be "huge" benefit to council's mission to revive the town's night-time economy

“Local population demographics, town centre footfall, perceptions of residents, business and employment data, and crime are among aspects being examined in depth, according to a report to a borough council task and finish group.

LBC’s head of public protection Tony Ireland described the focus for Luton as being “that 5pm to midnight operation”, saying: “We’re focusing on that earlier section of the night-time economy and the family offer in Luton.

“It’s live music, the restaurants, the independents and it’s the expansion of the move from day to evening to nights. There’s an increase in dessert shops, barbers and coffee shops, which have tended to move into the early evening offer.

“At those times, we have good transport. This becomes less as we get towards 11pm, but there’s an extensive Hackney Carriage and private hire operation centrally. There’s far more to do on walking, cycling and lighting to enable people to feel safe.”

Labour Saints councillor Ghulam Abbas said: “On our walkabout, it seemed there are pockets where the night-time economy seems to be doing well, but they’re spread out.

“If they were all in one location, it would be quite a vibrant area. The middle of George Street is bare and empty. I wonder if we could do some analysis about all of the entertainment because we want to appeal to everyone and their taste.”

LBC’s interim head of culture and creativity Corey Albone replied: “We’ve started a venue management group, with some of the key establishments in the town, and we’re looking to grow that.

“We want to plan and coordinate some of the local activities, and Luton Bid is part of this as well.”

Labour Central councillor Mohammed Yaqub Hanif added: “There needs to be engagement with community groups in the borough to attract them into the town centre, asking what they’d like.

“We need to think outside of the festivals. Even within Bury Park, there’s not much eating out. We need to change people’s mind sets. There’s more parking in the evening than during the day.

“There aren’t many family friendly restaurants in the town centre. Can we examine ways for the entrepreneurs based on the fringes to come in? We should be looking to see how we can grow the Park Street corridor, leading into George Street.”

Michael Kill, from the International Nightlife Association, told the group: “The one thing Luton has is a huge diverse culture we need to draw from, and create cross cultural environments in venues and spaces.

“We can start to bring some vibrancy back by doing this and then entice more visitors into Luton itself,” he suggested. “There’s a greater consideration for wellbeing, with 25 per cent drinking low or no alcohol.

“The alcohol content or going out to get drunk is decreasing. There’s more effort needed for other activity, whether street food, ping pong, darts, or entertainment such as a live band or DJ, which make a difference for the reasons people go out.”