What the plight of a local football club can tell us about the strength of a community

Luton has been hit hard by austerity and nowhere encapsulates its underinvestment like Kenilworth Road, its battered old football ground

Who decides the future of our towns and cities, when developers and politicians fight over small scraps of land? And what does it mean for our football clubs? How can they make sure they have the room that they need to play?

These questions have driven much of my reporting for The Independent for the past few years. Because they are some of the most important questions about the future of our national game. Go into any town or city in Britain and there will have been a recent debate about the location, development and cost of its football ground.