Relocation of Luton Rugby Club
Land at Sundon Road, Lower Sundon
Consultation Now Closed
Consultation Now Closed
Introduction
Welcome to our consultation website for the proposed relocation of Luton Rugby Club from its current grounds at Newlands Road to new grounds off Sundon Road, Lower Sundon.
The Club’s current facilities need a significant upgrade to meet the standards required by Sport England, the costs of which the club cannot afford. The only viable way of securing the Club’s long-term future is to redevelop the old ground for residential purposes. This will fund the relocation, providing a new club house and pitches. It will also ensure the long term survival of the Club. In addition, it will of course provide additional housing within Luton to help meet their needs.
In addition to this website, we will also be holding a number of public consultation events, details of which are provided below. We hope you find this information useful and we would like to hear your views about our proposals.
Please do fill in our feedback form or come and meet the redevelopment team at one of the consultation events on 25 February and 26 February 2022. Details of these are provided below.
For more information about Luton Rugby Club, please visit their website www.lutonrugby.com
The Proposal
Statutory and public consultation on our initial proposals began in 2019. Although many local residents, planning officers and stakeholders accepted the principle of the development, there were a number of constructive suggestions for improvements. As a result, we decided to withdraw our original planning application to give us more time to consider potential revisions.
Over the last two years, we have made significant changes to our proposals for the new home grounds. We believe these address many of the issues raised during our initial consultation process and have enhanced the scheme.
We are still proposing to build a modern rugby facility, with multiple pitches and a clubhouse, at the new site off Sundon Road, Lower Sundon. We are also still proposing to redevelop our current grounds at Newlands Road, which will be subject to their own consultation and development process at a later date. However, changes to the proposals for the grounds at Sundon Road include:
Revised layout: relocation of the clubhouse to the western boundary
Additional screening on the east of the site to be used as a ‘buffer’ and additional tree planting for screening
Amended clubhouse design: a low-profile building to make it appear as a single storey building designed in an agricultural style
Reduced scale of development: the new scheme covers 1,304 sqm (15% less than the previous application)
Reduced number of full-size pitches from seven to five, including 3G all-weather pitches
Parking for approximately 160 cars (10 disabled access spaces), up to three coaches and three minibuses
Overflow parking area for a potential additional 40 cars
Use of retractable floodlights
Proposed Layout
The need to move
Luton Rugby Club’s current grounds at Newlands Road need significant refurbishment, and they do not meet the latest standards required by Sport England. However, the Club is unable to fund these works. Like many organisations, the Club has suffered financially during COVID-19, with long periods without games. Furthermore, the Club is currently reliant upon a single sponsor for its continued operation, which is not a tenable long-term solution.
Redeveloping the current grounds into residential properties would provide sufficient funding to:
Clear the Club’s existing debts
Pay for the relocation
Fund the construction of the new clubhouse
Pay for the development of new pitches, including 3G all-weather pitches, which could also be hired out to other clubs
Provide financial funds to ensure the Club’s long-term security
The proposed new grounds and facilities off Sundon Road, can also help address a recognised shortfall in full-size playing pitches within the Mid-Bedfordshire region.
Thanks to the all-weather pitch and retractable floodlights, clubs (including non-rugby) from across Luton and Central Bedfordshire will be able to use the facilities in the evenings and in all seasons.
Aerial View
Summary of Changes
• Revision to the site layout including the relocation of the clubhouse to the western boundary
• Additional screening with trees next to the graveyard, separating the site from St Mary’s Church
• Amended clubhouse design to reflect a traditional agricultural building
• Reduced scale of development to minimise impact on the openness of the Green Belt (15% less floorspace than the previous application)
• Building partially underground, and set within the landscape with appearance of a single storey
• Reduced number of pitches from seven to five, removing those furthest to the north
• The use of retractable floodlights to minimise visual ‘clutter’
Consultation now closed,
thank you for your feedback.
We take public consultation seriously and we welcome your feedback and views on our revised proposals. There are three ways to share your feedback:
Complete our online feedback form which can be found below
Attend one of our public exhibitions
Email us on: consultation@proteus-cg.com
Telephone us on: 0800 0448103
The public exhibitions will be held in Sundon Village Hall, Streatley Rd, Sundon, Luton LU3 3PQ on:
Friday 25 February 2022 1pm to 7pm; and
Saturday 26 February 2022 9am to 12 noon
If you would like your views to be included within our consultation report – please ensure that you have sent us your feedback by 18 March 2022.
Please note that by submitting this questionnaire you are allowing you answers and data to be used as part of Luton Rugby club planning application. Personal data collected using the questionnaire is needed to confirm that responses collected and used to create the Pre-Application Consultation Report are genuine and have not been fabricated to give a false representation on the publics views towards this application. Personal details such as names and contact information will not be made available in public documents but may be made available to the local authority processing this planning application.
Document Download
Full details of the proposal can be found in the documents below:
Note: Your comments will be reviewed by Public Consultation Online and may be summarised anonymously. Your surname and postcode are required only to allow your response to be distinguished and to identify your proximity to the project. They will not be shared. If you require a response to your comments, please include an email address or phone number in the comments box. By submitting comments you are confirming that you are aged 16 or over. All data provided is held electronically on behalf of Public Consultation Online in accordance with the requirements of GDPR.