The public realm at Power Court has always been as fundamental as the stadium itself. The atmosphere at Kenilworth Road is special and bringing that magic to Power Court has been integral throughout.
Power Court is more than a stadium, it’s a major town centre regeneration site that will bring more than 1,000 new homes and businesses to Luton town centre. Through our socio-economic research, we understood that the town centre was deficient in open space and addressed this by providing a new public square of similar size to St George’s Square. Together with the deculverting of the River Lea, we’ve developed a comprehensive place-making proposal that people will want to live, meet, dwell and gather.
An important design change that was brought through the recent site-wide planning application was bringing the site to grade to allow seamless transition between existing town centre and the site, making the site as accessible as possible.
2020 Developments were committed to providing homes for Lutonians, and have committed to working with the Council’s housing officer to develop a mix of tenures that reflect the need. We have also committed to delivering 20% of the new homes as affordable housing and will work with registered providers to deliver this.
Luton has been consistently ranked as one of the best places in the country to start a business, with ratings based on the cost of floorspace, survival rate of businesses and connectivity. A range of uses will supplement the existing economy and activate the site on match days and non-match days. The range of uses includes a music venue, medical facility, hotel, F&B, cafes, restaurants, pubs and flexible space that could be used for match day pop ups, festivals or markets.
There are future aspirations to link the Power Court public realm with the Council’s proposals to reduce traffic on St Mary’s Road. In reducing the number of lanes, it will allow dedicated active travel lanes, crossing points and landscaping that will improve the permeability of the corridor. While these works would be beneficial to the public realm of the town centre, it will also play an important role in enhancing the setting of St Mary’s Church.