High Town, Luton

Architecture, shops and local employment

Compared to Luton town centre, High Town is a quieter, older world of small shops and Victorian terraced houses. It was since urbanisation a mixed area that provided housing and leisure to people employed in the hat trade that flourished in Luton until the late 1930s.

From 2008–11 Luton Council spent money to renovate public spaces in the ward after many years of neglect. In 2011 Luton Council finished its largest programme for the area, which involved the refurbishment of shop fronts and re-paving of roads. Shop refurbishment was in a style "befitting the Victorian heritage of much of High Town".

Beyond the shopping parade in the southern part of High Town Road, which begins at the railway station, and on the side streets and adjacent roads are terraces of Victorian houses, traditionally built in local brick. Between High Town Road and Hitchin Road is an area of warehouses and factories.

Government

High Town is a political ward, which returns two councillors to Luton Borough Council. Aysegul Gurbuz (Labour, suspended as of April 2016) and Andy Malcolm (Labour) were elected in 2015.

The ward forms part of the parliamentary constituency of Luton South, and the MP is Gavin Shuker (Labour). High Town is situated within the East of England (European Parliament constituency).

Olly Martins, the elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire (which includes the Luton area), lives in High Town.

Demography

The 2011 Census recorded a population of 9,046 people living in High Town, an increase of 27.8% on the 2001 Census figure. This was the second highest population increase recorded in an electoral ward in Luton between 2001 and 2011, the largest increase being in South ward.

High Town has a significant proportion of young adult residents.

Hat industry

About a third of Luton’s population was involved in producing hats in the industry’s heyday in the 1870s, but by 1999 this had declined to about 1,000, around 0.5% of the population at that time.

However, there are still hat makers and associated trades in High Town.

Art

Artists living in the area include Abi Spendlove, Fiona Martin, and Zena Jay Ellis.

In 2010, two ‘pop-up’ (temporary) community art spaces were created in empty shops on High Town Road by Luton Borough Council, Luton Culture and community interest company Meanwhile Space, involving the High Town-based artists Abi Spendlove, Fiona Martin and Zena Jay Ellis, amongst others. One of the aims of the High Town Art for All project was to bring the shops back into use as retail spaces, which was successful. The scheme was awarded Best Community Project in Luton’s Best 2010 Awards.

There were a further two exhibitions in these former shops. One was by British artist Nigel Grimmer at the end of 2010. The other, by German artists Annette and Erasmus Schröter, was opened by the cultural attaché to the German embassy in early 2011.

In 2013 Shop 33 was opened within High Town, providing an outlet for local artists and crafts people. The shop is administered by Luton Community Arts Trust, a local arts charity that was formed in 1976.

LCAT also administer the dedicated High Town web site at: http://www.hightownluton.com

Festivals

High Town used to host an annual festival, with a tug-of-war competition held between teams representing different pubs. The Friends of High Town residents group ran a High Town Fun Day in 2010 and 2011, where it revived a tug-of-war contest. The Luton-based 33 Arts organisation ran a High Town Festival in July 2013. A coalition of local organisations and faith groups came together to organise the July 2014 High Town Festival.

The annual Luton Beer and Cider Festival is held at Hightown Community, Sports and Arts Centre, where it moved following the closure of its previous venue, The Drill Hall on Old Bedford Road. The beer festival celebrated its 30th year in 2012.

Media

High Town Matters is an occasional newspaper, published by anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate, and delivered free of charge to homes and meeting places in High Town.

Living Luton TV is an internet television channel for the town, based on Midland Road and run as a Community Interest Company.

Luton at Large, a 'what's on' guide for the town, is published by JNB Publishing on Reginald Street.

Tropical FM TV, which describes itself as an interactive internet-based radio station, operates from a building on Midland Road.

Two weekly newspapers are delivered free to homes in High Town: the Luton Herald and Post is published every Thursday; the Luton on Sunday is published every Sunday.

Museums

Wardown Park Museum in Wardown Park has a display of Luton's history, a history of the development of Luton's industries, and hats and lace on show. Entry is free, except for special exhibitions.

Music

Greenbank Music Village, which was founded in 1983, has been on Cobden Street since 1998. It offers music tuition, rehearsal and recording studios, and has a music shop.

Between them, the largely High Town-based singerless punk band The Knockouts run music label High Town Records, produce cult fanzine Clod and the Luton Haiku, a daily online ode to the town.

Poetry

Poet and musician John Hegley, who was brought up in Luton, used to spend time in the Scandinavia Café on High Town Road. He immortalised the eatery in a poem that is displayed on the home page of its website. He returned to ‘the Scandi’ for the High Town Arts and Crafts Fair in December 2012, where he performed and signed copies of his latest poetry collection.

Seán Ó Roideacháin's poem 'High Town Road' ('Baile Ard Luton' in Irish) is about Irish emigrants in The Painters Arms and The Freeholder pubs on High Town Road during the late 1980s.

Groups and societies

1st Luton Sea Scouts, Luton's only sea scout group, has its headquarters on Bowling Green Lane. The group's first meeting took place in 1909, in the bedroom of a house in Clarendon Road in High Town.

Alban Neve Deaf Association, which hosts Luton Deaf Club, has been based at a purpose-built building on Old Bedford Road since 1962.

The Army Cadet Force has a detachment which meets at the ACF Centre, behind the former Drill Hall site, on Old Bedford Road.

The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain has a branch on Cromwell Hill.

The Friends of High Town residents' association meets monthly at the High Town Methodist Church.

The Lea Valley Masonic Lodge is based at The Pavilion on Bowling Green Lane.

Health

There is one GP practice in High Town, the Wenlock Surgery on Wenlock Street.

Parks and open spaces

There is effectively a 'green chain' of parks and open spaces across the centre of High Town ward. Bells Close Recreation Ground is the furthest east, linking with the wooded area of People's Park at the top of a hill on its north side, then down the hill to the west to Pope's Meadow and then north-west across the Old Bedford Road to Wardown Park.

Bells Close Recreation Ground has a modern playground and a 'trim trail', and is popular with footballers and dog walkers. People's Park is designated a County Wildlife Site, because of the occurrence of a rare plant species called the Great Pignut (Latin: Bunium persicum), which gives this piece of land limited protection from development. Pope's Meadow is an open and sloping area of grassland, which is popular with sledgers in snowy weather. It was used for Luton Borough Council's annual fireworks display in November until the event was cancelled in 2013. Wardown Park could be considered Luton's main park, due its size and central location.

People's Park (including Bells Close Recreation Ground and Pope's Meadow) and Wardown Park both won a Green Flag Award in 2013, recognising them as amongst the best green spaces in the UK. It was the first year that People's Park was awarded a Green Flag. Both parks retained their Green Flag status in 2014.

There are allotments just off Stockingstone Road, managed by Wigmore & District Leisure Gardens Association.

Pubs and bars

High Town remains a place to experience traditional pubs.

The Bricklayers Arms on High Town Road is a haven for Luton Town fans when their team is playing at home, but otherwise revels in a reputation for real ale and good conversation.

The British actress Diana Dors, an iconic figure of the 1960s, occasionally served behind the bar at The Rabbit, which is on the corner of Old Bedford Road and North Street, and is now called The English Rose.

The Gardeners Call is a nineteenth century pub on High Town Road with a beer garden at the rear.

The Painters Arms, also on High Town Road, was rebuilt in 1913 and has several interesting surviving features, including a 'Jug Bar' in the centre. It is now an Irish pub with live music and Gaelic games shown on its TV screens.

There was a pub on York Street (at its junction with High Town Road) called The Freeholder, which became an Indian restaurant, and then reverted to its original name when it was reopened as a bar in late 2012.

Buses

The number 14 bus travels through the centre of the ward, stopping in several places in High Town on its way between Luton town centre and the neighbouring suburb of Round Green. As such, it could be considered the main bus route through High Town. Other buses with stops in the ward include the 12, 12A, 13, 16, 17, 17A, 19, 19A, 21, 24, 25, 26, 35, 79, 81, 101, 102, 755 and 787.

Cycling

Part of National Cycle Route 6 passes through High Town in the form of a marked route alternating between shared road and pavement spaces along the A6 New Bedford Road. There is also a marked cycle route along the Old Bedford Road in High Town, which alternates between shared road and pavement spaces.

The section of Inner Ring Road in High Town has a separate path next to it, shared between cyclists and pedestrians, from its junction with Hucklesby Way and Old Bedford Road to the junction with Hitchin Road.

Guided busway

The Luton-Dunstable Guided Busway, which was opened in September 2013, stops at Luton railway station, although not on the High Town side.

Rail

Luton railway station lies partly in High Town ward and has an exit to Midland Road in High Town. The station typically has 10 peak trains per hour to and from St Pancras railway station in London. Trains take between 23 and 46 minutes to complete the journey, making High Town approximately one hour from the middle of the City of London. First Capital Connect (FCC) trains also run between Luton railway station and stops south of London, including Gatwick Airport (1 hour 22 minutes) and Brighton (just under 2 hours), as well as to the north of Luton, as far as Bedford railway station. East Midlands Trains runs 'fast' services between Luton railway station and Bedford railway station, as well as stops in Northamptonshire, Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway (for East Midlands Airport), Derby and Chesterfield.

Road transport

Luton’s inner ring road passes through High Town on the ward's southern side. In High Town, it starts at a signalised junction with Hucklesby Way and Old Bedford Road, runs under Luton railway station’s multi-storey car park on a newly created stretch of road to traffic lights at Hitchin Road and continues along Crescent Road to new lights at its junction with Crawley Green Road. This whole section was fully opened in August 2014, completing the circular route 40 years after the first part of it was built. The aim is to ease congestion in central Luton.

Junction 10a of the M1 motorway is approximately 3 miles or a 10-minute drive from the centre of High Town ward.

Education

There is one primary school in High Town, St Matthew's Primary School on Havelock Road. It was classified as ‘Good’ following Ofsted’s January 2013 inspection. Three previous reports rated the school as ‘Satisfactory’. There is also early years provision on the St Matthew's Primary School site; Stepping Stones was given a score of 2 by Ofsted, following an inspection in November 2012. This is an improvement on its Ofsted rating of 3 in October 2009.

There are no secondary schools in High Town ward; most of the area falls into the catchment area for Stopsley High School.

Barnfield College, a further education institution which is part of Barnfield Federation, has one of its campuses in York Street.

Bedfordian Business School on Duke Street is a Further Education college offering a range of courses to MBA level.

The University of Bedfordshire's main campus on Park Street in Luton is approximately a 1-mile (10-minute) walk from the centre of High Town ward.

Religious sites

There are a large number of churches in High Town, considering the number of people living in the ward. The established church is St Matthew, which covers an ecclesiastical parish that includes Biscot. There are also Hindu, Muslim and Taoist places of worship.

Churches

Other religious sites

Sport and leisure

Bedfordshire County Cricket Club plays most of its matches at Wardown Park, which is within the High Town ward boundary. The ground is also home to Luton Town and Indians Cricket Club, who introduced future England cricket star Monty Panesar to the game. Before graduating to first class cricket, Panesar also played for Bedfordshire CCC.

Galaxy Gymnastics Club is a not-for-profit organisation that has its premises on Concorde Street, where it has sessions for children and adults.

Hightown Community Sports & Arts Centre is in a separate building on Concorde Street and is run by Active Luton for Luton Borough Council. It has a variety of sport and fitness activities on offer.

High Town Working Men’s Club on Oxen Road has a bar, a function room and a hall with a stage. The facilities are open to members and their guests. The Club is affiliated to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU).

La Phyzz offers fitness, dance and theatre classes at its privately run facilities on Duke Street. Robert Kirkland-Hay worked at La Phyzz when he appeared as a losing contestant on Channel 4 television series Come Dine With Me.

There is also a range of dance classes available at Tina’s School of Dance on Old Bedford Road, as well as in acrobatics, keep-fit, musical theatre and drama.

Luton Town Bowling Club on Bowling Green Lane was founded in 1907 and has six outdoor grass rinks.

Wardown Park also has a bowling green, six tennis courts, a nine-hole mini golf course and a 'crazy golf' (miniature golf) facility.