Luton Town Relocation Plans

[Football Purist]

Good grief...Luton's quest for a new ground has been going on since God was a boy.
In that time scores of clubs have managed to sort themselves out with a new gaff...and Scunthorpe are on the verge of moving again!

 

[Kenneth E End]

Good grief...Luton's quest for a new ground has been going on since God was a boy.
In that time scores of clubs have managed to sort themselves out with a new gaff...and Scunthorpe are on the verge of moving again!

We've been trying since 1955. I wonder how many clubs have moved in the last 61 years?

 

[Judge Dredd]

To be honest the opposition I have seen isnt so much to do with the stadium itself but the fact that the land isnt being used for something else. Which all in all is a bit stupid as, if someone else had wanted to do something else with it, it would have been done at some point in the decade its been derelict.

Yep. That guy who wrote into the Luton News the other day to moan suggested the site should be used for more retail, as if that was some kind of revolutionary idea that had never been thought of before. No-one is going to use the site for retail because it's going to cost millions of pounds just to get the land into a state fit for building on. It's basically football stadium or nothing at this point.

Gary Sweet suggested the other day that he was fully expecting the owners of the Arndale to object, although I'm not sure what grounds it would be on (traffic presumably?). Other than that it seems a little quiet on the objections front, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of an organised counter-effort. Hopefully that's a good sign.

 

[Kenneth E End]

So it seems Rio Ferdinand (now a property developer) and co have objected to our proposals as it seems to impinge on their profits!

 

[genesimmons]

Why would arndale centre object? Will bring more business there

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[Judge Dredd]

Why would arndale centre object? Will bring more business there

The shopping centre at Newlands Park might take business away though, and maybe they are wary of traffic congestion on matchdays discouraging casual shoppers? I'm not sure why they would object to be honest, Gary Sweet reckons they will for whatever reasons though.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

I've always thought/read that you could not object on the basis of commercial reasons? I.e I object because it will take business away from me etc.

I read a list somewhere of what you could actually object too and it was pretty narrow and just included, traffic concerns and pure planning type stuff.

 

[Kenneth E End]

The shopping centre at Newlands Park might take business away though, and maybe they are wary of traffic congestion on matchdays discouraging casual shoppers? I'm not sure why they would object to be honest, Gary Sweet reckons they will for whatever reasons though.

They've only got a few days to go; they need to get on with it.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I've always thought/read that you could not object on the basis of commercial reasons? I.e I object because it will take business away from me etc.

I read a list somewhere of what you could actually object too and it was pretty narrow and just included, traffic concerns and pure planning type stuff.

Yeah an objection on competition reasons isn't valid, but of course that doesn't stop a party like the Arndale objecting with that in mind and just thinking of a different excuse for it (which seems to be what the Houghton Development people have done, phrasing their objection in terms of it going against the local plan etc).

 

[oakroader]

of the 40 odd thousand luton fans that would go to a wembley final i wonder how many actually live in luton?
how many live in close proximity to the proposed plans?
i bet most of those who want this development are living far enough away from the site?
doubt locals are for it??!!

 

[ProfessorGreen]

I hope it happens but they adjust the plans ever so slightly to build a house and garden onto the back of the away end. I'll miss walking through that little shit tip.

 

[oakroader]

I hope it happens but they adjust the plans ever so slightly to build a house and garden onto the back of the away end. I'll miss walking through that little shit tip.

gobby little arse muncher...that's my house that is!! last one out turn off the lights

 

[ProfessorGreen]

I mean the little alley way on the approach to the house of course

 

[BelizeHatter]

I cant imagine what its like to live in that house on match days...................

 

[Kenneth E End]

I cant imagine what its like to live in that house on match days...................

Do people actually live in that squalor?

 

[Urban]

Do people actually live in that squalor?

What, Luton?

 

[Bosox]

Owners of the Mall confirmed as having objected to the proposals.

http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/bu...due-to-obvious-risks-to-town-centre-1-7624497

Arguing against the out of town shopping at Newlands which they say is against National policy which discourages such developments.

 

[Football Purist]

Do people actually live in that squalor?

It's Bury Park so the answer is probably yes.

 

[ProfessorGreen]

Owners of the Mall confirmed as having objected to the proposals.

http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/bu...due-to-obvious-risks-to-town-centre-1-7624497

Arguing against the out of town shopping at Newlands which they say is against National policy which discourages such developments.

What a bunch of bellends.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

The Malls objection is incredibly short sighted. If anything the stadium will increase footfall on Saturdays, which they themselves say is their key trading day and with the other developments like the music venue meaning that their is far more reason to go into the town centre than their is currently.

Such short sightness is, I would argue, one of the primary reasons the town centre is in the state is in today.

 

[Bosox]

The Deputy Leader of Luton Council was on the local radio yesterday discussing the Mall objection (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p048gykl 2h19m into the programme).

Sounded like a spokesperson for the club, great to have such an apparently harmonious relationship between club and council these days. She won't be making the decision on the proposals but she's very clear she still firmly supports them.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Holy shit! Word is there are somewhere between 11,000 and 12,000+ supporters of Power Court having written in before the deadline.

That's remarkable considering it was about 4,500 not long before the original deadline at the end of September.

I would think it smashes the record for any similar planning consultation? I know Wimbledon were up there with 6,000 (a solid chunk of which were objectors apparently).

 

[Kenneth E End]

Luton Borough Council confirmed yesterday that just under 11,000 responses were submitted for the plans at Newlands Park and Power Court. Between them, Arsenal and Tottenham got 1,300 responses between them for their developments at the Emirates Stadium and White Hart Lane.

Unbelievable response. If 90%+ responded in favour, there is absolutely no way the council can turn it down.

Sian Timoney, the deputy chair of LBC was on BBC 3CR last week pointing out the short shortsightedness of the Mall's plans, but she doesn't have a say on the Planning Committee - obviously she will have some influence however.

This is going to happen.

 

[Football Purist]

Luton Borough Council confirmed yesterday that just under 11,000 responses were submitted for the plans at Newlands Park and Power Court. Between them, Arsenal and Tottenham got 1,300 responses between them for their developments at the Emirates Stadium and White Hart Lane.

Unbelievable response. If 90%+ responded in favour, there is absolutely no way the council can turn it down.

Sian Timoney, the deputy chair of LBC was on BBC 3CR last week pointing out the short shortsightedness of the Mall's plans, but she doesn't have a say on the Planning Committee - obviously she will have some influence however.

This is going to happen.

Will it be as good as Vicarage Rd?

 

[Kenneth E End]

One of our investors became a bit more richer yesterday - Rob Stringer is one of the money men behind the club; he's just become Worldwide CEO of Sony Music. The last one was paid around $20m a year. Not a bad person to have on your side!

 

[Bosox]

Good time to be paid in dollars as well!

 

[Kenneth E End]

Well, our plans have been dealt a major blow, although some people in the know don't seem to be all that concerned about it.

A statutory committee has raised "significant strategic concerns" about the enabling development at Newlands Park. And, in my opinion, it proves that the council have absolutely no ambition and have no interest in improving the town as a whole. It does stink of people trying to justify their (unelected) jobs. It seems incredibly short sighted.

https://planning.luton.gov.uk/onlin...OUTEIA-Strategic_Planning_Comments-641305.pdf

The bone of their argument is that it departs from the town's long term "local plan". This plan, for the period to 2030 I believe, had to be submitted prior to the planning application going in. In their opinion, the stadium should go at J10, complimenting other sports facilities nearby and retail on Power Court, to compliment the existing town centre.

Another argument is that the retail offering at NP would drive customers away from the Town Centre. The club have been quick to react previously that the two sites wouldn't compete in terms of offering. Although I'd admit, if a shop wanted to move across, the club wouldn't turn down any tenants that would bring money in. That said, the last time I saw it, The Mall was a private enterprise and shouldn't be relying on LBC to fight their battles? Its all about competition. Planning decisions legally shouldn't be made based on increased competition.

I'm still waiting for the Council to actually to give any sort of detail of what they'd do in the town centre. Earmarking Power Court for retail was done before the last recession, hence why the site is still derelict. They can say all they want about putting landmarks here, there and everywhere, but without any nitty gritty detail, this is worthless. LTFC in response, had written 10,000 pages on their planning application.

It also disputes KPMG's own figures about job creation and economic impact - in their opinion its "very large". That is based on what exactly?

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Found this a little surprising as up to this point the noises from the council seem to have been quite positive,

The "local plan" issue has been known about since it was announced that we wanted Power Court for the stadium site so this isn't really anything new, I think we all knew that this would be the criticism thrown at us alongside the traffic ones so i think we would have more than prepared ourselves to fight our corner on those points.

What is the point of having a "local plan" if, up to this point the town has shown precisely zero initiative to enact it? The Mall or whichever other business we want to sacrifice the town centre upon the alter of retail too have had years to do something's with a prime sight and done nothing, why not try something else for a change instead of trying to make the town look like numerous others up and down the country with the same old shops?

 

[Judge Dredd]

Isn't that comment basically just the people responsible for drafting the local plan anyway? They are just a consultee, not the ones who will give or deny planning permission. Gary Sweet didn't seem overly concerned about it yesterday so fingers crossed.

 

[Super_horns]

Got to feel sorry for you guys really - all these other teams seem to build a new stand or ground without much of a fuss but you've had issues for decades!