Letter: Luton's efforts set an embattled town on the road to economic recovery

Share
+More
Related Topics
Sir: Caroline McGhie's one-sided and inaccurate report on Luton ('Life in Luton is no longer a joke', 2 June) thoroughly misrepresents our town. Her point about the negative equity housing trap could easily apply to almost anywhere in the South-east. Similarly, the effects of the recession. But her description of urban decay and street violence made me wonder if she was talking about the right place.

Ms McGhie could have written about:

Luton's crime reduction programme, which has led to a decrease in crime levels - figures that have bucked the national trend and won praise from the Home Secretary on his recent visit.

The plans for a pounds 13m entertainment complex in the town centre later this year and the launch this month of a regional business centre. This, along with the recent opening of a new pounds 9m cargo centre at Luton airport, hardly displays a lack of business confidence.

The council's investment throughout the town last year of more than pounds 5m in home and environmental improvements.

Luton College's successful bid for university status.

Local authority and local industry working together - clearly evident in the conference that Ms McGhie attended only four months ago - to set Luton back on the road to economic recovery.

All this and more could and should have been reported. But, as they say, why let the facts spoil a good knocking story?

Yours faithfully,

ROY DAVIS

Leader of the council

Luton, Bedfordshire

3 June

React Now

Day In a Page

Read Next
Sibling rivalry: The public enemy (left) confronts his brother  

The new version of Ibsen's Public Enemy is a drama where democracy doesn't win any votes

Tom Sutcliffe
 

As Hay-on-Wye opens this week, it's time for book festivals to open a new and exciting chapter

David Lister

Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions

He's worked with Modest Mouse, the Pet Shop Boys and Beck, to name a few, and recently released his first solo album. So why, wonders Johnny Marr, do people still hark on about The Smiths?
After the flood: From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands

In pictures: After the flood

From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands
Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals

Death becomes her: A very modern mortician

Ever considered baking a loved one's remains into a cake or putting their ashes in fireworks? If so, talk to Caitlin Doughty, champion of the alternative death industry.
How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

At first it seemed clever and cute. Then the 'Keep Calm' motif went mad, spawning endless offshoots.
The man who built Brum: A lament for the demise of John Madin's Brutalist Birmingham

John Madin: The man who built Brum

The architect's buildings were supposed to leave an indelible, futuristic mark on his beloved hometown but they are now being inexorably torn down.
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery at the Ginger Pig

School of chop: Learning the art of butchery

How do you butcher a lamb? Or make Mexican street food in a British kitchen? Christopher Hirst finds out.
James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats