Task group to investigate plan to boost Luton town centre - and tackle issues like on-street drinking and begging

A group of councillors will gather evidence before reporting back to the local authority.

It coincides with a multi-agency group set up by the council to work with several partners tackling anti-social behaviour and related issues in the centre of Luton.

Labour High Town councillor James Taylor told the local democracy reporting service: “This task and finish group can set its own agenda, establish a structure, call people in and make its own recommendations.

“Usually a report is delivered within 12 months, but hopefully quicker than that,” he said. “The multi-agency task force is looking at short-term interventions, getting people round the table to address some of some of the day-to-day issues, such as on-street drinking and begging.

“On the nighttime economy, I want a separate strand of work. Some aspects might be national and others local. It may need some evidence gathering to understand what’s gone wrong here, and what can be done to influence and improve this.

“Venues are struggling and closing across the country. We’ve got a larger population than the towns around us, but others seem to have a more vibrant evening appeal.

“Part of this is understanding ‘is there anything we can do differently to attract that investment?’ It might be asking industry associations what they’re seeking’.

“Chain restaurants are one example. We’ve a couple of these, but we don’t have many compared to neighbouring towns of our size.”

Portfolio holder for regeneration and inclusive growth councillor Taylor explained: “We’ve a more diverse population than many other places.

“Is that being reflected in what our different communities want to see in the town centre? There are popular street food markets in other places, or craft beer festivals, which seem to take off well.

“Is there something we can do to attract those more experience-based things, such as darts or games-based events, escape rooms or interactive axe throwing, which people do now?

“And ‘is the build environment right, or are there any upgrades we need to make Luton more attractive for investment?’ There’s no one definitive thing we want to achieve. It’s a broad range.

“People say they feel unsafe,” he added. “We need to understand what’s causing that perception, and what we can do to challenge and change it. There’ll be thousands there for the fireworks and again for the Christmas lights switch-on.”

“The retail-led offer of 20 to 30 years ago has gone now. Internet shopping and the pandemic have seen to that decline. There are more people living in town centres.

“Power Court and The Stage are two big regeneration projects driving forward our future vision for the town centre. The Stage will include a venue to push that creative sector and Luton Town Football Club with its own proposals nearby.

“That’s about 20 per cent of the town centre land, which will hopefully be delivered in the near future.”