Luton in 2026

This year’s progress report celebrates the successes of the last year, makes clear where there is more work for the town to do, and calls on the town to seize the opportunities of the economic growth which is coming.  These include record investment in Luton and regionally, completion of game-changing developments like the Stage, and growth of the airport. 

Celebrating success 

A majority of our 2040 measures are on track, and concerted work is underway to tackle areas where there are challenges.  Destitution and child poverty are falling and the average weekly wage in the town is now up to £709 a week – testament to the fact that we are moving in the right direction.   

In a proud moment for our town, Luton’s Children’s Services received a “Good” Ofsted rating – a result of hard work, love, care, and showing we are on track to becoming a child-friendly town. 

On net zero, our air is also getting cleaner and our emissions are dropping.  And our significant progress on our housing challenges – with no families housed in emergency B&Bs and the lowest numbers in temporary accommodation for a decade – shows the real strides we continue to make. 

More work to do 

We need to remember that our 2040 vision is a truly ambitious one, unlike anything else being attempted in the country.  Additionally, some of the shocks and challenges we have faced – including the energy and cost of living crises - are often beyond our immediate control.  There are therefore some areas where more work is needed to achieve our goals. 

Although our destitution rate is declining, we still have some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country.  Set against the advantages we have as a town compared to others – an international airport, our fast links to London, our outstanding community spirit – the existence of these pockets of deprivation shows we still have to go much further. Other measures which are moving in the wrong direction, including healthy life expectancy, resident satisfaction and the proportion of our young people not in education, employment or training, will continue to require a coordinated and concerted town-wide effort to fix. 

Seizing the opportunity 

However, despite these challenges, these are exciting times for Luton.  Our report contains information on some of the opportunities coming our way in the next few years - from £1.7 billion investment in the town centre to a new cricket done, and from an upgraded station to key developments like The Stage and the new stadium at Power Court.  This is the biggest moment for our town in a generation and, as the outgoing leader of Luton Council, Hazel Simmons says in her introduction to our report, it is up to us to grasp it with both hands. 

Part of seizing this opportunity involves focusing on the three issues most important to residents: their jobs, their safety and their homes.  Our report is clear-eyed that this is not just the responsibility of the council as system leader, but that this also involves the town’s big institutions stepping up and playing their part.  It will also need our community and voluntary sector working together in a coherent and co-ordinated way, and individuals in the town embodying our vision through everyday actions like encouraging neighbourliness and enhancing civic pride. 

Achieving 2040 will not happen on its own, nor just by action by the council as system leader. As the case studies embedded throughout our report show, the town is full of incredible work driving our progress every day.  But for our vision of a town free from poverty and where everyone can thrive to succeed, it is vital that we work together to ensure that we seize the opportunities which are coming – and that we make sure they reach every single Luton resident.

You can download the 2026 Progress Report here.

You can download the 2025 Progress Report here.

You can download the 2024 report here.