AMBASSADORS from the #saveourtown campaign were given a warm welcome in Bury Park this weekend, the venue for the first in a series of planned community engagement events in Luton.
Representatives from the newly formed campaign met with residents and business owners to discuss the Power Court and Newlands Park planning developments, which will deliver up to 10,000 new jobs, revitalise the town centre, create a new football stadium and provide an exciting new gateway for the town.
Bury Park is the current home of Luton Town Football Club, but moving the stadium to the town centre will open up land for housing in the area and allow regeneration to take place. The campaign has been working closely with the Bury Park community in order to arrange the event, which provided the opportunity to discuss the plans in more detail.
Mohammed Nadeem, owner of Nadeem Plaza (pictured second from the left), said: “We support the #saveourtown campaign and we want all of our community to get behind it because this is where our pride is”, while Paul Kotecha, owner of the Home Improvement Centre added, “This will have a tremendous effect on the area and will be the transformation that we’ve need for a long time.”
John Archell, Vice Chair of the #saveourtown campaign said: “Campaign Ambassadors have really enjoyed working in partnership with volunteers from the Bury Park community – communities uniting for what’s best for the future of this town is at the heart of our campaign.
“There’s a lot of positivity about the campaign and the need for regeneration for Luton.
“We’ve only managed to see a fraction of the people who wanted to speak to us, so we’ll be back soon to finish the job.”
When launched on May 6th, the #saveourtown campaign pledged to give a voice to Lutonians and people who care about Luton, drawn from all parts of the community, as well as demonstrating the huge support for the Power Court and Newlands Park proposals across the town.
11,000 people, a record number, supported the plans for Power Court and Newlands Park by email and letter when the application from 2020 Developments was submitted. Local MPs, councillors and the wider community have also stated their support.
The proposals are currently being opposed by one key objector – Capital & Regional (C&R), operators of The Mall. Capital & Regional is a property investment company with a joint stock market listing in London and Johannesburg.
#saveourtown believes that Capital & Regional are only interested in maintaining its dominant retail position in Luton town centre, which it has used as a cash cow for too long. They have threatened to ‘kick the plans into the long grass’ with opposition, misinformation and scaremongering.
