EAST OF LUTON DEVELOPMENT – NEXT STEPS
I am sure many of you are wondering what happens next following the decision by North Herts Council to approve the East of Luton Masterplan at their Full Council meeting on January 15.
The full Masterplan document is over 100 pages long and we have asked the Developers to upload it to their East of Luton website (https://www.eastofluton.co.uk/). By the time you read this it should be loaded as a Key Document on the East of Luton page of their website.
Representatives of the Parish Council and residents of this Community presented objections to the Masterplan at the meeting on January 15. Specifically, we flagged that the Masterplan did not include key information concerning mix of houses and affordable homes; we reiterated the fact that Luton does NOT have an unmet need; we flagged issues including the lack of road infrastructure, planned building heights, schooling and others. Our concerns were largely disregarded, with Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors voting in favour of the Masterplan. We allege that a Council Officer representative and some Councillors were less than honest during the Full Council hearing – we are awaiting North Herts Council’s response to our subsequent written challenge.
We are disappointed in the lack of support shown to this community by our Labour MP Alistair Strathern.
What happens next?
The Developers and representatives from the Parish Council and community have met to discuss and understand next steps. These are as follows:
- Discussions concerning early planting of the green corridor/buffer-zone on The Crown Estates side of the development will be progressed.
- The Developers (Bloor Homes and The Crown Estates) will kick-off the planning application process with Outline Planning Applications. These are expected in May/June.
- The Developers, on behalf of North Herts Council, will hold drop-in sessions at the Cockernhoe Memorial Hall and in Luton (most likely The Hilton on the A505). These sessions will enable you to discuss your concerns in more detail. You will also be given information detailing how you can submit your comments on North Herts Council’s planning portal.
- As this is a big development, the planning process itself will include two further phases: a) discharge of conditions and b) application for approval of reserved matters.
- The planning approval process in its entirety (all 3 phases) will likely take to the end of 2026 to complete. No building can take place until ALL 3 planning phases are completed.
- It is likely that the first development activity will be the main access point to the Development at the junction of Crawley Green Road and Luton Road, to start early 2027.
- First houses expected to follow in 2029.
This all presumes planning permission is granted.
The Parish Council will notify you when the planning applications are live and open for comments. At that point YOU will have the opportunity to voice YOUR views. PLEASE USE THAT OPPORTUNITY…. DON’T ASSUME SOMEONE ELSE WILL DO IT FOR YOU. Read the planning documents – understand what is being planned for this development and how it will affect you – if you spot an issue, RAISE IT. Thank you.
NEIL JAY – CHAIR | OFFLEY & COCKERNHOE PARISH COUNCIL