Whilst the City Council might very well give a grudging qualified approval to our magnificent one and a half tin sheds proposal, I feel that we have reached this situation by stumbling blindly down an ever narrowing one way path. There has been a distinct lack of foresight by the whole redevelopment team in not pursuing options that could have been available to us had those options been followed up at the right time, and no real pressure has been placed on the City Council to help come up with an optimum solution . The Council doesn’t even appear to have a reactive positive response to any redevelopment suggestion let alone a proactive one – indeed it appears to have a complete disinterest in the whole project.
I feel that the vast sums spent by us on consultants’ fees could have been more effectively applied if part had been spent on planning consultants who could have put pressure on the Council to designate an area in the local plan as a mixed use site where enabling development could have been used effectively as a funding source - precisely what has been done by Luton Town.
Luton bought an out of town site for development for £10m last summer. Fans were querying where the money came from but I suspect that an upfront agreement with a developer was the source. The Council designated part of the site for a new football stadium. However in a further twist the football club has now stated that their preferred option is to build a new stadium in the town centre on an old industrial site, but funded by the site that they own.
Gary Sweet, chief executive of the club, said: "The mission of the Luton Town 2020 group was a set of tasks to be completed by that year, one of which was a new stadium.
"We'd be hampering our own ambitions by moving to J10.
"The way we're going to use it allows us to fund a fantastic, ambitious football stadium in the centre of town." The plan is for the 40 acre J10 site to be turned into a mixed use business site, both retail and offices.
Cllr Sian Timoney, portfolio holder for regeneration said: "It's brilliant news and an exciting opportunity for both the club and the town.
"It's something the council will look at when the planning application comes through."
Here are the links:-
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/luton-town/luton-town-news/hatters-shell-out-10m-for-potential-stadium-site-1-6930854
http://www.luton-dunstable.co.uk/Hatters-relocation-plan-met-support/story-28427329-detail/story.html
It really saddens me to see what we’re likely to end up with compared with what we could have had if the Club had only applied an innovative approach to our project. The City Council should also shoulder some responsibility for not recognizing the needs of the Club relative to the diminishing supply of land in the City at the appropriate time – particularly after being prompted by the conclusions of the Drivers Jonas Report.
I feel that the vast sums spent by us on consultants’ fees could have been more effectively applied if part had been spent on planning consultants who could have put pressure on the Council to designate an area in the local plan as a mixed use site where enabling development could have been used effectively as a funding source - precisely what has been done by Luton Town.
Luton bought an out of town site for development for £10m last summer. Fans were querying where the money came from but I suspect that an upfront agreement with a developer was the source. The Council designated part of the site for a new football stadium. However in a further twist the football club has now stated that their preferred option is to build a new stadium in the town centre on an old industrial site, but funded by the site that they own.
Gary Sweet, chief executive of the club, said: "The mission of the Luton Town 2020 group was a set of tasks to be completed by that year, one of which was a new stadium.
"We'd be hampering our own ambitions by moving to J10.
"The way we're going to use it allows us to fund a fantastic, ambitious football stadium in the centre of town." The plan is for the 40 acre J10 site to be turned into a mixed use business site, both retail and offices.
Cllr Sian Timoney, portfolio holder for regeneration said: "It's brilliant news and an exciting opportunity for both the club and the town.
"It's something the council will look at when the planning application comes through."
Here are the links:-
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/luton-town/luton-town-news/hatters-shell-out-10m-for-potential-stadium-site-1-6930854
http://www.luton-dunstable.co.uk/Hatters-relocation-plan-met-support/story-28427329-detail/story.html
It really saddens me to see what we’re likely to end up with compared with what we could have had if the Club had only applied an innovative approach to our project. The City Council should also shoulder some responsibility for not recognizing the needs of the Club relative to the diminishing supply of land in the City at the appropriate time – particularly after being prompted by the conclusions of the Drivers Jonas Report.