The proposed 23,000-seater at Power Court received backing in official report, which suggests it should be granted planning permission. If council members agree, the council could push it forward next week.

On January 16 the Luton Borough Council will consider the long-delayed Power Court stadium project. Luton Town FC has just received a major boost in the form of planning report, which suggests that council members vote in favour of the project.

While not overwhelmingly optimistic, the 123-page document sees very few disadvantages of the scheme, which would see a 23,000-capacity stadium, up to 550 new apartments and office/commercial facilities within close vicinity.

© Luton Town FC

One significant (literally) downside of the stadium is its scale. Despite efforts to not make it too imposing, the west stand and all of the stadium is likely to dwarf the nearby St. Mary's Church. That said, it's not as if the church's surroundings are perfect and overall the scheme would surely be an improvement for central Luton.

The stadium would be paid for by a separate development at Newlands Park, near junction 10 of the M1, for which a report is yet to be published. The Newlands Park proposal is due to go before the council on 30 January, but opponents have said it could have a negative affect on businesses in the the town centre.

Luton Town have been waiting for their planning application to be evaluated and approved since mid-2016, when they filed their documents. The process has been very lengthy but that was, as municipal officials assured publicly, in order to minimise the risk of appeals and protests against it being successful.