River re-routed to make way for football stadium

Redirecting the river is a key stage in preparing the Power Court site for the new football stadium

The River Lea has been re-routed to make way for the new Luton Town football stadium, which is due to open in 2028.

It was previously culverted underground and was flowing through what will become the football pitch at Power Court.

More than 300m (984ft) of concrete tunnel has been installed to redirect it and the club is planning to create a riverside leisure area for supporters and residents.

Michael Moran, chief operating officer at 2020 Developments, said: "Many years of planning and work with the Environment Agency have gone in to get to this point.

"We've done a tonne of ground investigations, all these engineering works, and now the water is flowing down this new route."

The Power Court site was home to a power station until 1969 and the river serviced its cooling towers

The River Lea rises in the Leagrave area of Luton and passes through Hertfordshire before joining the Thames in London.

In 2023, Luton Borough Council opened up a section of the river in the town centre as part of the Hat Gardens park.

Shortly after the Hat Gardens, the river flows into Power Court.

On Thursday, the original route was blocked off and sandbags lifted to release the water into its new channel.

"We've effectively stopped the old river, and water is now flowing through the new channel around the edge of the site," said Mr Moran.

"The site has got a huge industrial past, so the work to date has been the hard yards in the ground, but it's nice to see a nicer touch to it with the new river route opened up."

The club plans to open a riverside leisure area for the public and supporters to enjoy

Mr Moran said the river was one of the "key impediments" to the building project, as well as a large UK Power Network sub-station.

"By diverting the river, we can then remove the shell of the sub-station, and that happens next week.

"Cables have gone and it's all ready to go, then we've got a flat site to start piling later this year."