How Luton Town's fairytale Premier League promotion offers fresh hope to 'underdog' town

• ITV News Anglia's Andy Ward has been looking at why promotion to the Premier League is bringing fresh hope to the town of Luton

When Luton Town make their Premier League bow at Brighton on Saturday, they won't just be making history - they'll be carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire community.

Financially, promotion is significant for both the football club and the town as a whole, but the limelight and exposure that top-flight football will bring is something that money can't buy.

So how might that attention and focus change the town's fortunes, and make a lasting impact? ITV News Anglia has been speaking to key figures in the Luton to find out their hopes.

Luton is a town known for its rich diversity and mix of cultures. In fact, it's now one of the only places in the country where people identifying as white are in the minority.

The people who call the town home are fiercely proud of that heritage, but there's also an acknowledgement that this is a town facing challenges.

For the first time in four years, the number of people sleeping rough on Luton's streets has increased, while one in four children in the town live in poverty - one of the highest rates in the UK.

The cost of living crisis has undoubtedly had an impact, but there are also other factors at play that have contributed to the worrying rise.

The NOAH Enterprise charity supported 50% more people at its welfare centre in 2022 than it did the year before, and the urgency of how quickly people need support has also ramped up.

"We're seeing a lot more people coming to our welfare centre with an immediate and acute housing crisis going on - they don't have a place to stay that night or perhaps beyond the end of the week," chief executive David Morris told ITV News Anglia.

"Luton is a bit of a transitional town, transitioning from a post-industrial town, and moving towards what you might call an advanced engineering economy.

"It's transitional in terms of its population as well. It's bit like a London borough where you get a lot of people drawn by the infrastructure, the transport links, but of course you get a transient population there as well.

"There's a shortage of housing, there's pressures on people's household budgets, and of course, all it takes is one thing to go wrong, and then you can end up in a very, very difficult situation."

That transient population is demonstrated in how many of the town's youngsters look elsewhere for work.

Unemployment in the town is nearly double the national average, and in many ways, the town's proximity to London is one of its disadvantages.

There's still a perception among some young Lutonians that there aren't many opportunities for them to stay there, say charities.

The Young Steps project, run by local charity Community Interest Luton, is hoping to change that view, and is now offering youngsters free work experience, as well as advice on things such as interview technique and CVs - raising aspirations in the process.

"I think there are so many more options here than people realise. I think that's a very sad part about it - there are opportunities here that people just don't have access to," said project officer Shana Iqbal.

"Our town has always had this real deep sense of community, of helping one another - we're kind of the underdog. So, actually, the fact that young people are going elsewhere to look for employment, when they could be here and contributing to their own town, is really sad.

"It's really important that we have those young people and we're able to raise them, like we've raised our football club, to where they want to be."

However, fresh hope is on the horizon in the form of the football club's plan to build a new state-of-the-art stadium in the town centre.

The 20-acre site at Power Court, which is currently a car park, will be the location for the proposed 19,500-seat capacity ground which will also be accompanied by new homes, as well as leisure facilities.

The new stadium is part of a major regeneration project around the town's railway station, which is expected to bring thousands of new jobs to the area by the time it is up and running in 2026.

Luton Borough Council's deputy leader, Aslam Khan, believes it will be a step-change for the town.

"Not only will you have a state-of-the-art stadium, you'll have a music centre, you'll have culture quarters, you'll have retail, shops and residential and much more for the families to come and enjoy and spend time in Luton," he said.

"It will bring 15,000 jobs to the town, we have £5bn of inward investment planned and £1.7bn in the town centre here which is going to help transform the lives of many people in and around Luton."

In the immediate future, though, the local council is aiming to use the football club's promotion to the Premier League as a chance to tackle the town's "reputation issues".

Luton was recently voted as the worst place to live in England by readers of community review website iLivehere - the kind of "unfair criticism" councillors are desperate to shake off.

In wake of promotion, the council has rolled out a rebrand it is calling 'Step Forward Luton' in a bid to challenge the negativity that it believes has been putting off potential investors.

With the number of people visiting the town set to increase significantly over the course of the football club's Premier League adventure, the hope is that visitors will not only spend money in local bars and restaurants, but the world will also get a glimpse of everything that Luton has to offer.

"This opportunity will help us to address the problems everyone is aware of," Mr Khan added.

"This gives people hope and an opportunity to benefit from all the investments and all the jobs in the pipeline. Our town is misunderstood. This is our chance to send a really positive message and showcase Luton to the rest of the world."

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