High Town, Luton

High Town is a hilly area of Luton and electoral ward, adjacent to Luton railway station, which extends north east towards Hitchin.The area and ward are officially spelled with two separate words. This is also the most common spelling of the name, but some organisations and businesses use 'Hightown', e.g. Hightown Baptist Church and Hightown Community, Sports & Arts Centre.Architecture, shops and local employmentCompared 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.GovernmentHigh 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.