Campaign group #saveourtown has urged followers to keep calm after it was announced this afternoon that a new date has been requested for the Newlands Park planning decision.
An artist’s impression of Newlands Park
Luton Town Football Club and their property arm, 2020 Developments, have today written to Luton Borough Council requesting the date be delayed by ‘in the short term.’
The Newlands Park planning application was due to go before the council’s development control committee on January 30 after an historic decision on Wednesday saw permission granted for Power Court, 2020’s other regeneration scheme.
In making the decision, the Hatters have said they’ve made ‘consideration of our available resource in regards to executive time and involvement of board members, that our interest, both on and off the pitch, are best served by delaying the Newlands committee date in the short term.’
#saveourtown, who have been campaigning for the approval of both Newlands Park and Power Court, say there is nothing to be concerned about.
Chairman Nigel Green said: “We’d like to urge Lutonians not to view this as a problem in terms of the strength of the Newlands Park application. It is not. It’s merely a resource issue.
“It was clear that January would be a busy month when the two committee dates were announced last year because, in football terms, they fell within the busy transfer window period. Of course, in this time the club has also unexpectedly seen its manager depart, while it is on public record that CEO Gary Sweet has also had surgery.
“It makes sense to defer the decision to a time when these football issues are not a concern.
“We’d simply refer people to the comments made by councillors when approving the Power Court application. They complimented 2020 on that plan being the most comprehensive they have ever seen and we are in no doubt that they will say the same thing about Newlands Park
“We waited decades for the hope that Power Court has now given us, so it’s worth the wait for a few more weeks to get the job done, and done right.
“Keep calm and trust in 2020 to deliver a bright new future for our town.”