Community Trust Fund 2013

Monday 28th January 2013

Airport Operator commits £50,000 for Community Trust Fund in 2013

The operator of London Luton Airport has committed a further £50,000 for its Community Trust Fund in 2013. 

Established in 2009, the fund was set up to provide support for local community initiatives that positively contribute towards the aims and objectives of the Airport’s Community Engagement Strategy.

This year’s fund is open to applications from groups in Luton, Stevenage, Central Bedfordshire, North Hertfordshire, Aylesbury Vale and St Albans district - which includes Harpenden. The fund is independently administered by the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation and grants are awarded by its Grants Panel which undertakes monitoring and evaluation to ensure the grants deliver significant impact in the social, environmental and economic life of the community.

In 2012 the £50K Community Trust Fund continued to make a valuable contribution to the local community. 31 grants were made, supporting a range of local charities and community organisations.

Since 2009 £180,000 has been distributed to 134 groups. The Foundation has calculated that there have been over 10,400 direct beneficiaries and over 127,000 indirect beneficiaries of the scheme. The fund seeks to support the long term prosperity of the local community and we are pleased that 67% of groups have stated a grant from the Trust Fund has helped their long term sustainability.

Funding enabled one group, the Mid Beds Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB), to employ an experienced outreach worker to work in small communities that found access to the main centres difficult. As a result, an extra 204 clients were supported. The work of the CAB generated an estimated additional annual total income of £794,000 for those clients.

Luton Choral Society received funding to hold a concert “African Sanctus” which attracted an audience of 315, the highest in ten years. The concert was not just a one off event, as it linked with Cantores, a girls’ choir that has won national competitions . In addition the Society worked closely with local schools to hold an arts competition on the subject of the concert. One primary school, Someries, joined the concert on the evening and learned how to use a range of percussion instruments.

For further details on the new fund, visit the Community Trust Fund pages on this website.

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For more information please contact:
London Luton Airport Press Office – press.office@ltn.aero

Notes to Editors
London Luton Airport is one of the UK’s largest airports and carried 9.6 million passengers in 2012. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 500 and 8,000 staff respectively, is a key economic driver for the region and a major base for ‘low cost’ or ‘no frills’ air travel.

easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomson, EL AL, Blue Air and Flybe operate from the airport, departing to 100 destinations including services to Europe, Africa, and Asia, with onward connections to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok via Tel Aviv.

London Luton Airport Operations Limited, through its parent company TBI Limited, is owned jointly by the leading international infrastructure provider abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (with a 90 per cent shareholding) and the international business arm of Aena, the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation, Aena Desarrollo Internacional S.A. (with a 10 per cent shareholding).

Gateway Gallery

22nd November 2012

University students evoke tales of Latvia with latest art installation at London Luton Airport

 

London Luton Airport has teamed up with the University of Bedfordshire to showcase an exhibition by Latvian printmakers. The prints, by students and alumni of the University of Bedfordshire’s Art and Design department cover themes of distance, travel, nostalgia and folktale and are currently on show in the Airport terminal’s Gateway Gallery.

Rachel Gannon, from the University of Bedfordshire, commented, ‘We are delighted to showcase the work of our Latvian students in partnership with the Airport. The exhibiting artists are from a variety of creative backgrounds; from fine art to illustration. The print making tradition is part of Latvia’s rich cultural heritage and we hope the prints will capture the imagination of the Airport’s passengers, including those arriving at London Luton from Latvia itself.

London Luton Airport’s Community Relations Executive, Sian Pearce commented: ‘We are always keen to work with partners such as the University of Bedfordshire to bring new and exciting exhibitions for our passengers to enjoy. These intricate prints offer passengers an insight into the printing process and also the cultural diversity of Latvia. The students who created the pieces regularly use the Airport to travel home from University and we are delighted to help them showcase their work. We hope our passengers will find them inspiring.’
With an average of 25,000 passengers travelling through the Airport every day, the Gateway Gallery provides local artists with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their artwork as well as giving Airport passengers greater access to local artistic talent.

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For more information contact
London Luton Airport Press Office - pressoffice@ltn.aero


Notes to Editors:
London Luton Airport is one of the UK’s largest airports and carried 9.5 million passengers in 2011. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 500 and 8,000 staff respectively, is a key economic driver for the region and a major base for ‘low cost’ or ‘no frills’ air travel.

easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomson, Aer Lingus, EL AL, Blue Air, and Flybe operate from the airport, departing to over 100 destinations including services to Europe, Africa, and Asia, with onward connections to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok via Tel Aviv.

London Luton Airport Operations Limited, through its parent company TBI Limited, is owned jointly by the leading international infrastructure provider abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (with a 90 per cent shareholding) and the international business arm of Aena, the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation, Aena Desarrollo Internacional S.A. (with a 10 per cent shareholding).
 

Meet the Buyer 2012

Meet the Buyer hailed as a resounding success!

22nd October 2012

London Luton Airport welcomed local businesses and Airport companies to the ‘Meet the Buyer’ event, a business networking event giving local suppliers the opportunity to showcase their services directly to Airport related companies.

The event, now in its third year, included 77 suppliers and buyers, encompassing a great breadth of industry sectors from across the Region.

Yolanda Rugg, Commercial Director at The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, commented that, “Businesses across Beds and Herts were thrilled to access key decision makers from sizeable organisations located at the Airport, and be given the opportunity to pitch for local contracts and add value to the supply chains. This was a great event to help boost confidence and support business growth.”

Support from the event also came from Sue Munn, Business Development Manager at the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, who said that there is “untold value in initiatives such as Meet the Buyer”, especially in encouraging organisations to “facilitate and encourage a ‘buy local’ culture”.

Cllr Nigel Young, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities (Strategic Planning and Economic Development) Central Bedfordshire Council said: "It was a fantastic opportunity for our businesses to engage with major buyers and speaking to a business following the event they said it was good to meet buyers that they wanted to have an audience with. For them, they said that two of the pitches went really well and that these could potentially lead to something more for them."

Cllr Hazel Simmons, Luton Borough Council said: "The Council was delighted to partner such an important event which we know from experience will lead to increased business opportunities at the Airport for local businesses in Luton."As well as offering suppliers appointments in which they could introduce themselves to major companies at the Airport, this third Meet The Buyer event also provided them with an invaluable networking opportunity."

“Milton Keynes and North Bucks Chamber of Commerce supported last week’s London Luton Airport Meet the Buyer 2012 to provide a firm platform for members to benefit from a targeted and informative business introduction event. We thoroughly endorse events of this kind that support growth within the local economy and open up valuable business networking opportunities.” Colin Fox Chief Executive Milton Keynes and North Bucks Chamber of Commerce.

"The University is very glad to support airport businesses and their important local suppliers through the excellent Meet the Buyer initiative. We are delighted that airport employers contribute directly to our courses and this helps us to supply the graduates and the work placements that successful businesses value." Eamonn Keenan, Associate Director, Knowledge Hub, University of Bedfordshire

"Sue Ryder is delighted to be the Charity of the Year for London Luton Airport. It was clear from the 'Meet the Buyer' event that London Luton Airport has excellent links both with their suppliers and their community partners. Their commitment to the community in the their local area shone through. It was great to be part of it". Jason Suckley, Director of Fundraising and Marketing, Sue Ryder

“This was a great event attracting small businesses from across our Region [and beyond] who were given the opportunity to pitch to some major buyers on the London Luton Airport site; not least the Airport itself. Listening to businesses throughout the day I detected a lot of confidence that 'real' business will be done. The day set a good example to public sector buyers in the Region, some of who still need to improve their procurement accessibility to local businesses for mutual benefit, growing the local economy and fostering meaningful, sustainable growth in the small business sector.” FSB Regional Representative, Ian Cording

The event encapsulates London Luton Airport’s commitment to positively contribute towards the regional economy and in a very real way provide opportunities for local businesses.

Glyn Jones, Managing Director, London Luton Airport said, “The ‘Meet the Buyer’ event has been a resounding success. This resulted in opportunities to do business which has a real impact on the local and regional economy, which only goes to emphasis the important role that the Airport plays as a key economic driver in the Region. We would like to thank all the local agencies that partnered on the event, their input ensures the wide reach of the event into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, not to mention the suppliers, who through their attendance have raised almost £7000 for Sue Ryder, the Airport charity of the year".

‘Meet the Buyer’ was hosted in conjunction with Luton Borough Council, The Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Central Bedfordshire Council, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Milton Keynes & North Bucks Chamber of Commerce, University of Bedfordshire and the Federation of Small Businesses.

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Pictured L to R: Garth McKenzie, Central Bedfordshire, Prof Carsten Maple , University of Bedfordshire, Cllr Sian Timoney, Luton Borough Council, Elliot Renton, London Luton Airport, Hazel Simmons, Luton Borough Council, Yolanda Rugg, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Glyn Jones, London Luton Airport, Caron Kendall, Federation of Small Business, Oliver Jaycock, London Luton Airport, Jason Suckley, Sue Ryder

For more information please contact:London Luton Airport Press Office – press.office@ltn.aero


Notes to Editors

London Luton Airport is one of the UK’s largest airports and carried 9.5 million passengers in 2011. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 500 and 8,000 staff respectively, is a key economic driver for the region and a major base for ‘low cost’ or ‘no frills’ air travel. easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomson, Aer Lingus, EL AL, Blue Air and Flybe operate from the airport, departing to 100 destinations including services to Europe, Africa, and Asia, with onward connections to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok via Tel Aviv.

London Luton Airport Operations Limited, through its parent company TBI Limited, is owned jointly by the leading international infrastructure provider abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (with a 90 per cent shareholding) and the international business arm of Aena, the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation, Aena Desarrollo Internacional S.A. (with a 10 per cent shareholding).

Luton's Best 2012

23rd August 2012

 

Time to thank Luton’s Best

Nominations are now open for the Luton’s Best Awards 2012 for local individuals and groups, organisations and businesses that have made a real contribution and difference to the town.

So if you know of anyone who has done Luton proud this year then this is your opportunity to say thank you. It is easy to nominate by visiting www.luton.gov.uk/lutonsbestawards by October 1.

Shortlisted nominees will be invited to the glittering awards evening at The Luton Hoo Hotel on Thursday, November 29th. All nominators will be entered into a free prize draw to win two tickets to the ceremony.

For more information and full details of categories and criteria contact Sinead McNamara on 01582 546265, email sinead.mcnamara@luton.gov.uk or visit the web site.

The Luton’s Best Awards are non-profit making and financed through private sponsorship.

London Luton Airport is sponsoring the Community Project of the Year award.

Gallery Relaunch

21st August 2012

London Luton Airport announces winning artists at re-launch of Airport Gateway Gallery

London Luton Airport today officially re-launched its Gateway Gallery and will showcase work by local artists who have won exhibition space in the gallery following a successful local competition.

The competition, which launched in May, offered talented local artists from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire the opportunity to display inspirational artwork in the Gateway Gallery. Over 30 quality applications were received and five local artists have been selected to display their artwork over 2012 and 2013.

The Gallery, delivered in partnership with Luton Culture, is located in the main terminal building adjacent to the Onward Travel Centre. London Luton Airport is the fifth busiest Airport in the UK and expects to see almost 10 million passengers in 2012.

The five winning local artists who will display their work over the coming months are:

Anne Marie-Stijetja , Bedfordshire
Josie Shenoy, Hertfordshire
Lauren Clemmet, Bedfordshire
Lance Fennell, Buckinghamshire
Warren Kerley, Buckinghamshire

The launch was attended by the winning artists and the judges of the competition which was run in partnership with Luton Culture, the University of Bedfordshire, Arts and Business and the Bedfordshire, Buckingham and Hertfordshire Artist Networks.

The first artist to display in the Gallery is Bedfordshire based Anne Marie- Stijetja whose mosaic pieces are created from recycled stamps. Anne Marie says of her work ″I’m thrilled my work has been chosen. Including these works in the London Luton Gateway Gallery Exhibition seems an entirely appropriate fit as it can be seen as a metaphor for travel, reflecting the journeys undertaken by new arrivals arriving at the Airport from all corners of the world. For this exhibition I have selected a mix of pieces that help to reinforce the idea of place or arrival, and include portraits of the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year that can be seen as a welcome to people arriving from far off lands”.

Rupert Lawrie, Commercial Director for London Luton Airport said, “We are delighted to be working with local artists to help them display their work in our Gallery. With an average of 25,000 passengers travelling through the Airport every day, the Gateway Gallery provides local artists with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their artwork as well as giving Airport passengers greater access to local artistic talent”.


Pictured L - R: Sian Pearce, Anne Marie-Stijetja, Lauren Clemmet, Warren Kerley, Josie Shenoy, Rupert Lawrie, Dipak Mistry (Arts and Business), Caroline Wallace (Luton Culture)