Luton's plans to build a new stadium are back on track after a legal challenge had threatened the project, the club have announced.
The Hatters want to fund a new 17,500-capacity stadium in the town centre by building a new shopping and leisure facility at Newlands Park.
Capital and Regional, which owns the Mall shopping centre in Luton, had claimed the Newlands development was "unlawful" and in November applied for a judicial review into the Sky Bet Championship club's plans.
🙌 THERE WILL BE NO APPEAL ON NEWLANDS PARK! "This is a ground-breaking day – securing victory in by far and away the biggest battle we've faced throughout the 11 years of 2020's custodianship." 🏟️ Power Court here we come! #COYH Full statement 👇https://t.co/I07yupbZWg — Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) January 6, 2020
Luton said in a statement on their official website: "We are delighted to hear the fantastic news from Luton Council that the High Court has confirmed that no appeal has been made within the deadline against the pre-Christmas decision to dismiss C&R's call for a Judicial Review on the Newlands Park planning approval.
"Along with our colleagues at the Council, we always believed that their decision last March to grant permission for the mixed-use development at Junction 10 was fair and not open to challenge. The Judge agreed on December 19 and finally C&R have given up on contesting the decision further.
"This means we are finally able to move forward in refreshing the four-year-old plans to enable us to build a new stadium for the football club, and play our part in helping to regenerate our town with two developments that will bring thousands of jobs and millions of pounds of investment.
"This is a ground-breaking day – securing victory in by far and away the biggest battle we've faced throughout the 11 years of (Luton Town) 2020's custodianship."
Luton added: "Like the Council, we will now be taking action to pursue the legal costs incurred in the recent challenge – while looking forward to many more memorable occasions in our final seasons at Kenilworth Road before moving to our new home at Power Court."
