Financial viability assessment warns “project at risk” if required to deliver 20% affordable housing
The developers behind the Luton Town Football Club redevelopment, which includes 1,200 homes, have lodged a formal request to drop its obligation to deliver affordable housing as part of the scheme.
Developers 2020 Developments (Luton) are requesting that planners remove the scheme’s legal obligation to ensure 20% of its residential homes are affordable in order to make the project commercially viable.
The 25,000-capacity stadium is already being built on the 21-acre brownfield site formerly home to Power Court, a former power station.
Luton Borough Council’s development management committee is due to vote on the request on 20th August.
The site is located in Luton Town Centre’s northeast gateway, just to the south of Luton rail station and sits within and with direct access to the inner ring road.
>>See also: Green light for new Luton Town football stadium
Planning has been granted, subject to a section 106 agreement, for up to 1,200 residential units, a health care and or community use venue of up to 1,700sqm, up to 5,600 sq. metres of appropriate town centre commercial space, 1,200 parking spaces and associated access, highways, utilities, public realm, landscaping, river works and other associated works and structures.
A request to remove the affordable homes obligation was sent to Luton Borough Council on behalf of 2020 Developments (Luton) by financial services company WSP.
A financial viability assessment created by Redloft suggests that if the affordable housing obligation is upheld it could put the rest of the project at risk.
The letter from WSP cites the viability assessment suggesting “a possible outcome could be that residential development of 1,200 homes and the other elements of the regeneration project wouldn’t come forward”.
It warned that it would put at risk “parking and other associated work, such as highways, landscaping and river works.”
It added: “The loss of affordable housing is unfortunate, but it’s considered that there would be many wider benefits associated with the regeneration of the Power Court site.”
Luton Town have played at Kenilworth Road for 119 years. The current stadium has a capacity for 12,000.
Luton Borough Council currently has a documented need for 7,200 affordable homes.
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