Luton Town have been granted planning permission to proceed with plans to build a new stadium called Power Court.

Permission was granted by Luton Borough Council to build a 25,000 stadium on brownfield land near to Luton train station on the site of the former Luton Power Station.

A meeting was held last week (17/12) that ruled in favour of the plans to build the stadium as a replacement for Luton’s Kenilworth Road, which has housed the club since 1905 and was renovated last year in preparation for Luton’s promotion to the Premier League.

Luton Town first identified the Power Court site as a suitable location for a new stadium in 2015 and were granted outline planning permission to use the site for a ground in 2019.

Luton Borough Council’s Councillor James Taylor, Portfolio Holder responsible for Regeneration and Inclusive Growth at Luton Council, said in a statement, “Tonight’s approval of the detailed Power Court planning application is great news for Luton and our Town Centre. This multi million pound development will invest onto a long derelict site and help to spark a revitalisation of our town centre. With our own regeneration project, the Stage, we are excited about the positive impacts these developments will have on our economy and visitor offer.

“Our ambitious town centre masterplan is delivering the positive outcomes that we want to see and hope to keep delivering in the future. There are a few standard additional post committee items that still need to be resolved but we are closer now than ever in seeing the Hatters finally have a new home.

When our team does well, our town does well and this positive development can have every hatters fan looking to the future with optimism”. 

In remarks published on the club’s website and in the match programme ahead of Luton’s final home match of 2024 last weekend, Luton Town’s CEO Gary Sweet hailed the decision.

He said, “Without doubt, our biggest victory of the year was played out on a Monday night fixture at the Town Hall, in front of a crowd of dignitaries, resulting in a massive home win for the Town but without a ball being kicked.

“All of us present in the Council’s chambers, along with the many Hatters watching the live stream, were thrilled that our detailed planning application for a long-awaited new home at Power Court was given the final green light by Luton Borough Council marking the end of formalities on our new stadium journey as we celebrate the fact that no further permissions are required.

“It’s another defining milestone in the delivery of our long-held plans for a new stadium against our seemingly disappointing season in the Premier League. In an ironic and bittersweet way, it was last season’s short visit to the top table which provided the resources for the redesigned bigger, more ambitious stadium which will provide the foundations for a longer Premier League visit next time.

“First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone at the Council – councillors, planning officers, executive officers and the leader – who have all been amazingly supportive during the challenging but enjoyable process – to all of those who supported the applications.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your patience and support in enduring this long, extended process. Personally, I consider myself to be a patient person, but as we battled through the numerous challenges since the conception of our original plan, I’ve had to learn to put my eagerness and frustrations to one side. Patience truly is a virtue when you know you’re on the right track (on and off the pitch!).”

Sweet said attention will now turn to hiring a master contractor and getting cash flow in place to get the project off the ground, with intent to begin construction by June and to have a stadium ready by the summer of 2028 at the latest, with the summer of 2027 a possible target.

He said, “Alas, whilst many may expect piling and brick-building to start immediately, there are still a few agenda items we need to tick off which we can only do when our decision notice is awarded.

“Of course, in terms of physical constraints, we do have the small matters of relocating a sub-station and the diversion of the river before we can begin the physical work, which will just take a few months. The latter is more within our control but whilst we are forced to pay for the new sub-station, we are beholden to UKPN for its installation, switch-over and removal of the old one.

“Meanwhile, as this work continues, we have an intensive period of appointing a master contractor – where I can inform you that the selection process has excitedly begun with the initial response being very positive.

“Our core focus is structuring the necessary cashflow funding to help pay for the construction of the stadium itself until such a time that the residential development has been completed a few years later and, in particular, we are in dialogue with public bodies for some financial support for the site-wide infrastructure which is key to the town’s wider regeneration.

“Working with the appointed contractor, we will also need to deal with the many conditions in the planning consent, section 106 agreements and, of course, to meet the numerous compliances set out by the various authorities.

“At the same time, we will also be resubmitting new plans for the wider Power Court site – for the residential development – so we can establish a phased construction plan, starting of course with the stadium itself. The work for this masterplan has already been done and these will be made public in the not-too-distant future.

“Anyway, enough of this detail, I hear you cry. The plan is to have ‘spades in the ground’ within about six months. From then we’re looking at approximately a two-year build, as long as we don’t experience any further unforeseen obstacles. Now, whilst this may suggest a potential 2027/28 season start, even after fitout and the necessary test events – which is indeed our ideal target – history would suggest that we may be prudent to hope for this but expect the season after.”