Tony
SM says use "the byways we all know" to get to this site – and he unwittingly highlights the problem. Using the M1 is not the most convenient method for most people in the Luton Dunstable area. They will try to come through Toddington, Sundon and Harlington. The road through Harlington does not even have footpaths each side in places. Anyone who actually lived in the village would know how unsuitable the Old Park Farm location is. PWW is right. Plus Toddington is already brought to a standstill many times a day by HGV’s coming off the A5 trying to squeeze past parked cars, how much worse will this be if there are 200 acres of warehouses at J12. Why should residents "lump it" like SM says so a few fans can amuse themselves twice a week. Its not at all the same as Wembley which has been there since 1923 so anyone living next to it does so by choice.
Bedfordshire Clanger
With the growth area already pushing out as far as Chalton, another 250 acres or a square mile of countryside pushes Luton's boundary to Harlington and seems a high price to pay for the weekend hobby of 5000 or so people when there are already so many empty warehouses along the M1. This 30 acre gift of land to a financially strapped club looks like a Trojan Horse for unwanted and inappropriate large scale development in a place which would otherwise never even be considered.
Simon ,Sundon Village
which piece of land could be made available for a stadium at J11a ? How many years before J11a is finally constructed? Will the land owner there give up this piece of land for free and also help secure a £25.mil deal to help build a stadium? Is there any guarantee that the locals there would welcome a stadium? Maybe the South Beds council should buy L.T.F.C. and then donate some council land and pay for the construction of a stadium,after all they would then receive the future revenue from such a scheme ensuring that the "business" is run with absolute Political correctness , create jobs for the wider community and create harmony and job satisfaction in the work place.There would be no future risk of the club ever going into recevership as the council could always increase the council tax to cover any business loses through unnecessary spending & bad management.Ooops!
Phil
A visit to Rosemound's website shows that this company is 50% owned by Halifax/Bank of Scotland, and routinely acquires land on motorway corridors on a speculative basis. Now South Beds District Council have confirmed any application of this size in the green belt MUST go to a full public enquiry, what's the betting that once that happens, the speculators will take a commercial view and go off and speculate on land more realistically placed for warehousing, such as J11A, now given the official go-ahead, and LTFC will be back at square one?
The Spokesman
With the news that the Dunstable Byepass/Junction 11a has been given the go-ahead, I suggest that the time has come for all Hatters to stand up and demand the removal of Tomlins ans anyone else involved in the pie in the sky stadium project at J12 and put all effort onto J11a which afterall was the site recommended by South Beds council.
The Spokesman
SM....you are clearly demented !
On one post you lived in Bristol for 4 years whilst on another its been Harlington all your life.
Go away and spam another thread and leave this one to those with something sensible to say !
Oh and Id be happy to meet you in one of the pubs you claim to frequent.
Jules, Oxford
I share the fears of John P that at some point we are going to share the new stadium at MK Dons. they as sure as hell are not going to fill it.. how long before we are told it's a "short term " measure until Junction 12 is built..in other words we will be stuck there forever.. a new local derby MK Dons v MK Hatters.. a short sited view that would not go down well with the fans.. who had issues with playing Franchise FC without having travel up there every week.. Its time for the board to come clean or sell up and let some real footballing people to take over..
SM
To Jack and Beth, I have lived in Harlington all my life, al beit for 4 years of my life. I AM a villager, I HAVE supported Luton Town all my life, I HAVE been a season ticket holder for too many years. Are you the hidden people who are driving your Chelsea tractors around Harlington, dropping you kids off at school when a 3o second walk will suffice. I am sorry but both of you get real, why do you object to this happening. For you Jack, before posting, look at the definition of NIMBY...someone who objects to siting something in their own neighborhood but does not object to it being sited elsewhere; an acronym for not in my backyard .....and Beth I am real...how long have you lived in Harlingtom? For goodness sake, its still a mile down the Road, what do the people of Wembley think when 900000 people converge on their homes. Dont tell me, you are one of the people who moved out of London because you didnt want to pay the congestion charge....And Jack, I am more than happy to have a pint with you in any pub in Harlington to discuss this, i am often seen frequenting them on most nights of the week....other than when Luton play of course ;)
John P - Luton Born & Bred
Having followed the relocation issue for as many years as I can remember, there has to be 'light at the end of the tunnel'. We all have to believe that one day this Football Club will move to the 'promised land' for the long term future and security of a club that I have supported for 40 + years, and is one of the oldest in the south of England (122 Years). I want to stay positive and optimistic but one when I listen to John Mitchell and the Representative from Rosemound Developments, I just hope, when we the see this planning application go forward that the professional research and plans, that they get it right first time, because if not, where do we stand as a Football Club then ? Would a chance of looking at other alternative sites in the same area, ie Junction 11a, have any stomach, or do we then have to bite the bullet and go for a development at Junction 10, but with all that comes with that site ie Airport Flight path and of cause the Watson-Challis family demands, as they own the land. PS - It would be my worse nightmare if we ever had to ground share with Franchaise FC in MK. It would in my eyes be the end of the Football Club as we know it. Here’s hoping of ‘Better News’ in the future, but with a few set backs upon the way, and alot of 'water to go under the bridge'.
PWW
Surely SM is missing the point on 'NIMBY's', Luton doesn't want Luton Town in their back yard so how can you expect anyone else to!!! The people that live around or near the proposed J12 area do so largely because they appreciate their surroundings and don't want to be surrounded on all corners by concrete. If anyone believes that these people will entertain such a vast development on Green Belt land without a fight they are very much mistaken. This will be Brighton & Hove all over again. The real reason this site is being pushed above all others is that a few people stand to make a huge amount of money from the deal and has nothing to do with the welfare of LTFC!
hollandaise
IF ONLY.I HAVE SPENT SIXTY YEARS GOING DOWN TO THE KENNY. HOW NICE IT WOULD BE TO DRIVE IN PARK AND WALK INTO A CLEAN NEW STADIUM NO MORE WALKING DOWN DOGSH*T ALLEY HAVING TO STEP AROUND DUMPED BEDS OLD FREEZERS AND OTHER UNMENTIONABLE RUBBISH OH HAPPY DAY
Jules, Oxford
Has anyone thought of bulding houses at junction 10 (the Watson-Challis land) and houses at Junction 12 (the Cliff Bassett land )..re-locate all those people who live around Oak Rd, Kenilworth Rd & surrounding areas and re-develope the Old ground.. Re-development is the way to go.. Plymouth, Blackpool and Preston have all re-developed their grounds and Portsmouth plan to do the same.. Bury Park is an eye-sore.nice new homes for the residents and a nice new ground and re-development for LTFC..everyones a winner..
Mark Kelly
You may want " a world class stadium that is in the right place and delivers all the facilities that both the fans, the employees and the local area needs." but in reality this stadium is never going to happen as it meets none of the criteria for building on Green Belt land. You only have to look at the Brighton & Hove situation.
aaron kinsella
just buy da new stadium
aaron kinsella
yes we should have the staduium and forget how much it costs because we are already in debt.
Beth
SM says look at the bigger picture but putting a 250 acre development in the middle of riral Bedfordshire is about more than there just being no space in Luton right now. Luton is set grow with the new northern bypasses and junction 11A and there will be room there in land already designated for development. But a huge warehouse complex right between Luton and Milton Keynes will push the urban boundary out way too far and goes against ever factor on which green belt development is judged, so even if the local authority ignored the law and approved the scheme, which seems highly unlikely, it would still have to go to the Secretary of State and a public inquiry. Take you own advice and get real.
Jack
S M you are a total hyprocrite to moan about NIMBYs and telling them to lump it. A NIMBY is someone who wants something built only not in his own backyard but somewhere he can travel to by car and then go home without having the noise mess and violence on his own doorstep. That's you, pal, not the local residents whose lives will be ruined twice a week by people like you.
Minty
250 acres in total is over a square mile of development. In the middle of regioanl consultation on plans to expand Milton Keynes south and expand Luton to the north why should a landowner be allowed to more or less fill in the gap and wreck the lives of whole communities in Harlington and Toddington just so he can get rich off the back of stadium which could easily fit in with the new junction 11A which has now been approved and will be built.
Ben
Now we see the truth of it - a massive 250 acre development, the stadium is just the Trojan Horse for this scheme 10 times the size of the stadium itself. It won't matter to the devlopers whether the club attracts the stadium or is a white elephant, if they get this enormous site developed. Was this the reason for the club being bought up in the first place?
TheKenny
Kenilworth Road is where the history is. Why leave a place like that for another boring clinical retail park of a stadium?
Niall Kelly
If you have the land earmarked and the stadium plans why wait until the end of the year to seek planning permission? From LTFC Wellingborough
S M
Well said Phil. Unfortunately change is always viewed upon as a bad thing, but with all due respect to the Loyal Luton fans, lets be totally realistic. We cannot build a new stadium near the airport, thats a certainty. The land at IBC and old Vauxhall sites is too close to the airport, increased congestion and serious contamination of the ground there, plus its already earmarked for other things. There is no land in the centre of Luton, nothing near Stockwood Park, nothing near to Dunstable. I suppose they could bulldoze Marsh Farm, but that isnt ever gonna happen. So where are the viable options. There is nothing suitable on the A6, Sundon is out of the question, again what are the options. Think about it, accessibility is the key here, and if a few Luton fans are not willing to travel a couple of miles up the motorway, or the back routes we all know, then they cant call themselves fans. I lived in Bristol for 4 years, and i travelled to KR for every home match in those 4 years, wheras a few are moaning because they will have to travel a few miles. get real, if YOU love Luton Town and you want to see them progress, stop your whining and get behind this, act like real fans and bite the bullet, some people dont realise when they were born. When Sunderland moved that few miles to the Stadium Of Light there were those who said they would never watch Sunderland play again, yet they still went and watched them. Come on get real, some people will moan at anything that interferes with their own lives, but dont look at the bigger picture when something good could come out of this, whether or not it goes ahead, have some belief and change some attitudes, and forget about the NIMBY's, if they dont like it they can lump it......
Glen
20,000? You can't fill that hole you're in at the moment.
Romario
This has to happen... its our last hope!
Phil Wain
For once please get behind an opportunity and if it does go wrong lets get behind the next one but dont keep killing efforts to get what the club will die without.
AJA
If only it was believable, another false dawn to keep fans stringing along (yet again), I know it sounds pessimistic and cynical but I guess that is what your average Hatters supporter has developed into over the decades. It could just be me but I see a touch of smokescreen about this, we announce the site and ground details etc and then suprise suprise it is rejected and we end up ground sharing temporarily at the new MK Dons stadium, then temporary drags on .....
Shefford Hatter
This development will never happen. The local residents will fight this all the way. You only need to look at Brighton to see what can happen, they've waited years and despite being backed by the local council they still have no planning permission due to the effective use of the planning appeals process by the affected residents and they don't even have to put up with a 250 acre development. Also, with Milton Keynes still building warehousing only 10 miles up the M1 the chances of getting planning permission on 250 acres of green belt land are zero. Unfortunately there are too many individuals with conflicting interests and they have put all the clubs eggs in the J12 basket instead of even begining a
search to build a ground in Luton
The Spokesman
Oh dear oh dear oh dear...LTFC once again embarks upon a poorly conceived and bodged effort at disinformation.
A press release to inform that they have appointed Rosemound as developer.....however...Fact..THEY APPOINTED THEM IN MID 2006 !!!!
Fact....the money received from sale of assets, namely the players, has been given to Rosemound to put the plan together.
Fact...After months and months of stating that an application would be submitted early 2007 its now late 2007...why ?. Because they are aware that at present it will be rejected. The villages of Toddington, Harlington, Westoning and others have joined forces against the scheme and crucially the majority of councillors are also against the plan. BUT..the council elections take place in May and Rosemound hope that a more sympathetic influx of new councillors might swing things their way.
So there we have it...the truth that is behind this idiotic attempt at spin. Oh and lets not forget....Rosemound will need more money over the months ahead so expect more selling of assets ! Rebekah...try harder next time !
hatters1988
forget trying to convince the people of harlington john, try convincing the fan base of the football club after all they should be the ones that come first should they not? seeing as they were here long before you, and shall remain long after you have gone. the only way of doing this is to get an independant fesability study done on land in luton, maybe then people will begin to believe what you are saying.
Indian Hatter
IF this comes off, John Mitchell and CO will be here's. I know there will be resentment from the keep luton in luton brigade. But with no backing from the council or local politicians and NO AVAILABLE LAND OR CASH to build it.. What other chance have we got? Enabling development is the only way forward!
Bored, tired and confused
So, there's not going to be a planning application made before the end of the year... by which time we could be sitting at the bottom of the First (ie Third) Division, and then the application has to be accepted. Then the stadium built. This really might be good news, maybe I've grown too jaded to know.
One thing nags me though, as a Lutonian, the problem with J12 is that it's NIMBY. Luton Town should be in Luton town. Kenilworth Road, it'll probably take a few more decades for us to realise, is where we belong...
Tom
Simply a device for Cliff Bassett to increase the value of his land, he tried to do it with a road to Sundon tip a few years ago and failed due to local opposition. Completley the wrong place for a football stadium - it will be challenged all the way
Carl
This is great news! we desperatly need a new stadium and this is a step in the right direction!
debbie
go for it hatters!!!
Barton Hatter
What a load of rubbish!!! There is no way a football stadium is ever going to be built in this location.After all this time we are now told a planning application is unlikely to be in this year!!! A bunch of jokers if they think the fans buy into this latest statement.
