Capital & Regional says '˜call in' for Luton Town applications would cause '˜many months' of delays

Luton Council announced on Monday that a “realistic” date for its Development Control Committee to vote on the applications was four months away (w/c August 20).

In a statement issued this lunchtime, the Mall owners said they too had been “very concerned” by the length of time it had taken Luton Council to set a timetable for a decision on the plans which were first submitted in August 2016.

They said: “We absolutely welcome the announcement of a committee date in August for 2020 Developments’ planning applications.

“Like all parties involved in this process, we are very concerned it has taken Luton Council so long to finally set a timetable for a decision.

“Luton Town Football Club, its hugely supportive fans as well as all the many businesses and their employees in Luton town centre under threat from the proposed very large out of town retail and leisure development at Newlands, have been desperate for a decision for many months.”

C&R also added that the local authority had correctly confirmed yesterday that the council would have to refer both applications to the Secretary of State if they receive a committee resolution for approval, as they are departures from the adopted Local Plan and are against current national and local planning policy.

They said: “This may well lead to the Secretary of State ‘calling in’ the applications which would inevitably delay the planning process by many months. There is also potential for a judicial review after any call in process.”