English Championship football club Luton Town has granted a fresh look at its proposed new stadium, with further details released over how the project has evolved.
Earlier this month, Town submitted a detailed planning application for a new 25,000-capacity stadium at the Power Court site. The club, together with its development company 2020 Developments, submitted the application to Luton Borough Council and has today (Wednesday) confirmed the process has been successfully validated.
Town chief executive Gary Sweet said: “We wish to place on record our gratitude to the Council’s officers and planning team for their promptness in validating these extensive set of plans.”
Today’s news means that the documents submitted by the club and 2020 Developments are now in the public domain, allowing a closer look at the plans.
Town was initially granted planning permission for the stadium in 2019, but Sweet in May said that the revenue generated from the club’s one-season stay in the Premier League would allow it to open the new stadium at maximum capacity.
The Power Court stadium will act as the centrepiece of the wider regeneration of a 20-acre site adjacent to Luton Railway Station. Images released in May 2023 presented the stadium in its first phase of development at a capacity of 19,500, but the plans have been revised following the club’s short spell in the Premier League in 2023-24.
In the project’s planning statement, the design of the stadium is said to have “evolved” to result in a “more ambitious brief, which will ultimately achieve the ‘end-vision’ for LTFC on day-one”.
The statement read: “Key design changes since the 2019 planning permission for the stadium have included a 25,000 seat, single construction phase stadium project – this is a change from the outline consent for a 23,000 stadium for a phased approach. Re-aligning and de-culverting the River Lea, removing the need for a podium level, improving and enhancing public realm and landscape opportunities, and integrating the proposed development with the wider site masterplan.
“Re-orientating the proposed stadium to reduce the bulk and massing on St Mary’s Road and therefore improving its relationship with St Mary’s Church, and opening up opportunities for a new public plaza. Capturing the spirit and atmosphere of Kenilworth Road through careful and considered design solutions, and activating the public realm surrounding the stadium through the introduction of retail and commercial opportunities at street level.
“Integrating non-sports and community focussed spaces and retaining but reducing the height of the proposed halo lighting, which will help ensure that the proposed development becomes a landmark for Luton.
“The stadium will include ancillary commercial uses to activate the surrounding public realm, including retail/commercial units on the ground floor, including a pub, café and ticket office in the west stand, smaller kiosk type retail outlets to the south and two larger tenanted retail opportunities to the east.
“The Club shop for LTFC on the ground floor in the west stand, a commercial unit on the second floor designed to be a community sports facility, a community sports deck spanning the entirety of the east stand on the third floor; and lettable office space in the second floor of the south stand. An ancillary use is also sought to enable the stadium to be used for concerts up to three days a year.”
Town stated this month that the updated outline submission would include a hotel and music venue. The latter has now been detailed as having a capacity of 1,800 and a floorspace of up to 2,700sqm, while the hotel, with a floorspace up to 12,000sqm, would accommodate up to 150 rooms.
The statement added: “Before these elements are built out, it is proposed that the space can be used as a LTFC ‘fanzone’ which will be a ticketed pre/post-match event space for 1,500 to 1,800 people. This interim meanwhile use will enable activation of this space adjacent to the stadium. A new ‘west plaza’ will be created between the proposed hotel and the stadium, which will become a new public space within the heart of Luton.
“The high quality, robust public realm will introduce a network of new public open spaces for people to enjoy on non-match days, whilst functioning seamlessly to support crowds on match-days.”
Luton has played at the 10,300-seat Kenilworth Road since 1905. The stadium required significant upgrades ahead of last season, which forced Luton to postpone its first home match. The club hopes to complete work on the new stadium by 2027.
