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LUTON REGENERATION Luton is rapidly transforming with key development sites across Luton forming part of £4.5 billion target of investment in the London commuter town.
LUTON AIRPORT & LUTON DART
THE MALL LUTON SHOPPING CENTRE
Luton is growing faster than anyone could have predicted, and is now the fifth busiest airport in the UK. At its current rate of growth, LTN is forecast to reach its existing permitted capacity of 18m passengers a year (mppa) by 2021.
The Mall Luton is owned and managed by Capital & Regional, a UK focused specialist property REIT.
Luton Airport plan to make best use of the existing single runway in order to help meet the shortfall in national aviation demand, deliver a projected 16,000 new jobs and £2 billion economic growth. Work is now well under way on the £225m state-of-theart Luton DART, a 2.1km fast transit system which will link London Luton Airport with Luton Airport Parkway mainline station in well under four minutes.
The Mall is a 1 million square foot shopping centre in the heart of Luton with 122 retailers, over 2,000 employees, circa 21 million visitors and £227m gross sales annually. Capital & Regional has already invested £30m upgrading and maintaining The Mall Luton with new retailers and services since 2010.
The scheme includes design and construction of two stations, a gateway bridge, viaduct and tunnels, and is due to open in 2021.
Current improvements include investment of over £5m to bring Arndale House back into use, with Luton Council and Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust leasing the 52,000 sq. ft. of office space and a £7m upgrade of the shopping centre, including a Family Zone, Kids Play, Feast Street, Entrance improvements and mall ambience.
HIGH TOWN MASTER PLAN
LUTON HAT DISTRICT
The historic High Town area of Luton will be transformed into a vibrant neighbourhood with a complementary mix of residential, public realm, retail and commercial activities.
Following successful funding bids, the Trust secured £7.2m towards refurbishing three hat factories and building Hat Studios.
Situated adjacent to Luton railway station, High Town is conveniently located immediately to the north of Luton town centre. A bridge passing through the railway station is the main pedestrian connection between High Town and Luton town centre. The regeneration will be achieved through private and public investment and will include improved public open space and enhanced natural environment and heritage assets, whilst providing substantial new residential development. High Town will be a historic neighbourhood destination with residential-led mixed use developments which include small scale offices, workshops, live work units and additional retail to enhance the area and increase footfall. The scheme will also provide better pedestrian access and permeability.
The collection of imposing buildings will provide 25,000 sq. ft. of new workspace for the creative industries. This will enable 133 additional jobs and further inject life into a vibrant cultural district that will attract 135,000 new visitors by 2022. The Hat District is the best connected creative workspace cluster in the UK, being a two-minute walk from a mainline train station (22 minutes to London) and bus station connecting the region. In addition, it is only 10 minutes by car from the M1 and London Luton Airport.
