Luton: Former Mall flamingos installed without planning permission

Flamingos were installed in the new Hat Gardens on Silver Street, Luton, and removed within 24 hours

A councillor has questioned why a council began to install "iconic" flamingo figures in a town before getting planning permission.

Five fibreglass birds appeared in the new Hat Gardens in Luton last week as part of the Luton Borough Council project.

Liberal Democrat opposition leader, David Franks, said it was "typical of [the council's] attitude to planning consent for their own projects".

The council has been asked for comment.

The restored flamingo figures were last seen in Luton's Mall - formerly the Arndale Centre - and gifted by the Mall to Luton Borough Council.

They were installed in the Hat Gardens on Silver Street on 22 February but removed after what the council referred to as a "slight glitch".

The Luton flamingos

A flamingo fountain of eight birds was installed in Luton's Arndale Centre in 1975

• A flamingo fountain with eight birds was installed as a feature in the then three-year-old Arndale Centre in 1975

• When the building was refurbished and renamed The Mall in the 1990s, this centrepiece was replaced by five smaller birds that looked like they were flying out of the roof

• These were later removed in favour of a mural on the walls of Central Square and Bute Square in the shopping centre

• The five suspended flamingos in the new installation on the southern bank of the open Lea River are the restored original smaller flying birds

The council said they were part of the Open Lea/Silver Street project as part of its work to attract people back to the town centres and promote pride in Luton.

"The flamingos are a treasured part of many Lutonians' memories and we know people will be delighted to see them back in the centre of the town," a spokesman said.

"Unfortunately, we've had a slight glitch securing one of them so to be on the safe side we are taking them all down while we sort the issue."

The flying flamingos, which will be displayed in a new installation in Hat Gardens, replaced the original fountain

The council had submitted a planning application on 16 January but permission had yet to receive approval to proceed.

The authority had said the removal was "unrelated to the planning application" but has yet to comment further.

Mr Franks said: "Why didn't they wait until they did have planning permission?

"[This is] typical of their attitude to planning consent for their own projects."

The only flamingos currently in The Mall are painted on a wall