Luton Council will 'vigorously defend' decision to grant Luton Town planning permission for Newlands Park

Luton Council have confirmed they will 'vigorously defend' their decision to grant Luton Town planning permission to build a mixed use scheme at Newlands Park.
Luton Town's Kenilworth Road groundLuton Town's Kenilworth Road ground
Luton Town's Kenilworth Road ground

The Hatters saw their application passed back in March 2018 for the scheme which includes new offices, retail, leisure facilities, restaurants and bars as well as a 300-bed hotel.

However, last month, law firm Eversheds Sutherland, who are representing Mall owners Capital & Regional, confirmed they would apply to the High Court for a Judicial Review if the council didn't review the original outcome, which they felt was 'legally flawed'.

That is something that clearly won't be happening though, as in response to these claims, a council spokesperson said: "On 11 March 2019 the Council’s Development Control Committee resolved to grant planning permission for the Newlands Park planning application for a mixed-use gateway scheme incorporating offices, retail and leisure.

"It was then referred to the Secretary of State who chose not to “call in” the application.

"As a result, the Council issued the final decision following the signing of the S106 agreement on 24 September 2019.

"Following the decision being issued we were notified by the lawyers representing Capital & Regional of their intention to launch a legal challenge into the decision, which they had the right to do so within six weeks of the decision being published.

"The Council has now considered the matters raised and has responded in a letter firmly rebutting the grounds of challenge.

"We do not consider that the decision making process contained any legal flaws, a view which is supported by our legal representatives who have closely scrutinised the grounds for challenge put forward.

"We will vigorously defend the decision to grant planning permission for the Newlands Park scheme, should Capital & Regional continue to pursue this matter through a legal challenge in the High Court."

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