WSP Indigo helped Luton Town Football Club and their development company, 2020 Developments, the two of the largest UK commercial planning consents of 2019. The high-quality schemes will not only safeguard the Club’s future but also transform Luton’s image by delivering a new stadium in the heart of the town, creating thousands of jobs and bringing millions to the local economy.
WSP Indigo submitted the two linked applications and environmental assessments and negotiated the schemes through to a positive unchallenged determination.
Newlands Park, to be built on a site at Junction 10a of the M1, will comprise over 1.25 million square feet of office, retail, food and beverage, leisure and hotel space. The development could create upwards of 9,780 net new jobs and add £235 million to Luton’s economy between 2020 and 2040.
As an extension of Luton town centre, the development at Power Court will see a vacant former power station site be developed into a new 23,000-seat football stadium for the Club, with a live entertainment venue, new homes, shops and town centre facilities. The scheme could create more than 1,000 new jobs and bring £26 million per year to the local economy by 2040 and enhance a culverted river to create new public realm.
The successful applications will help transform Luton’s image and have given not only the Club’s supporters, but residents and businesses something special to celebrate. For us, they marked the culmination of five years’ hard work that saw our planners’ expertise employed on all aspects of planning, from engaging in a review of the Local Plan through to a judicial review.
At a glance
Commencement: Construction starts in 2020/2021
Extra fact: 10,000 people watched the live stream of the stadium’s planning committee meeting via Facebook
Value created
• We achieved two of the largest UK commercial planning consents of 2019
• Our work including managing Newlands Park through judicial review
• The two schemes could create over 10,000 net new jobs by 2040
• The council will redevelop the existing stadium into social housing
We provided
• Planning
• Environmental Impact Assessment
