Challney is a district in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, in the

district, in the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, England, off the main

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

leading from Luton into

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

. The area is roughly bounded by Rodheath, Stoneygate Road, Roman Road, and Beechwood Road to the north, Hatters Way to the south, the M1 to the west, and Waller Avenue and Chaul End Lane to the east.

History

''Challney'' was originally just another name for Chaul End up on the hill to the south of the district. Challney was a sleepy residential area until the extension of the nearby

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

on the west side which was built in the early 1960s. The Luton and Dunstable Hospital is also situated nearby in neighbouring Lewsey. Challney is still a relatively residential area with good schooling and local amenities. One of Luton's large retail parks for DIY and electronic goods is located in the area and attracts visitors from all over the county.

Leagrave railway station Leagrave railway station is located in Leagrave, a suburb in the north of Luton in Bedfordshire, England. Leagrave station is situated on the Midland Main Line 33¾ miles (54 km) north of London St Pancras International. The station i ...

is close by for residents wishing to commute to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Challney has separate high schools for boys and girls, Challney High School for Boys and Challney High School for Girls, both of which are located on Stoneygate Road. Challney Community College is also based in Stoneygate Road. The High School has recently been designated as a Leading Edge school and Challney is the Business Studies Spoke School for the elearning centre in Luton.

Politics

Challney is within the larger Challney ward, which also includes

Skimpot Skimpot is a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by Dunstable Road to the north, Hatters Way to the south, Skimpot Road to the west, and the M1 to the east. O ...

and part of

Maidenhall The Maidenhall Estate is a council estate in Ipswich, in the Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Or ...

. The ward is represented by Cllr Khtija Malik (

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

), Cllr Tahir Malik (

) and Cllr Tom Shaw (

). The ward forms part of the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Luton North, whose MP is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith ...

(

Local attractions

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers cover Challney, although they are not specific to the area. They are the:
Herald and Post

Luton News

Notes and references

{{Luton Wards of Luton Areas of Luton