London City Airport Consultative Committee

Community Relations

The Airport's work with local communities

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Being a Good Neighbour

The Airport seeks to be a good neighbour. They understand that its near neighbours are interested in the impact which the Airport has on their lives and they make communication and consultation a key priority. To this end the Airport has developed and implemented a comprehensive Community Relations Programme which focuses primarily on local education and employment initiatives. They believe that investing in the future of local young people, employing local people and maintaining an open dialogue with the community is vital in shaping the future of London City Airport and the community in which it operates.

Relationships with the neighbours are generally good not least because the Airport strives to:

• Be open and tell the truth
• Secure good two-way communications
• Provide early information and consultation
• Take account of the impact on the neighbours
• Deal with problems promptly and effectively
• Support community ventures
• Support local education
• Support local art and culture
• Participate in local affairs and share skills
• Share the benefits

On this page we seek to describe the Airport's latest initiatives in pursuit of these local goals.

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Community Relations Staff

The Airport is thus pro-active in building relations with its local community.  To liaise with the community directly the Airport has a Community Relations Manager (Elizabeth Hegarty) and two Community Relations Executives Rupal Patel and Kellie Heath. For contact details see our Contacts page. 

Community Relations Ambassadors

Supporting the community relations staff are four Community Relations Ambassadors who work elsewhere in the Airport but provide support to the Communty Relations team on one day a month each. They work part time with the Community Relations team to further strengthen links with local residential and business communities. The key responsibilities of the Community Relations Ambassador include:

* Developing and maintaining relationships within local communities by attending meetings, contributing to local projects, programmes and initiatives.
* Providing local schools, colleges and interest groups with guided tours of the airport.
* Raising the profile and co-ordinating London City Airport community relations activity.
* Assisting with planning and organising of fundraising events.
* Working with local education providers to build skills and confidence in local students.

The Ambassadors receive additional skills training to help equip them for their community tasks, such as Powerpoint presentation skills, and are provided with the opportunity to gain a wider understanding of the business as a whole, thus assisting in their personal development. The Ambassadors perform their duties during working hours, one day each month in place of their normal roles.

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Community Programmes

VISIT the Airport's website for information about the Airport's Community Programmes. Elizabeth Hegarty, the Airport's Community Relations Manager, will be pleased to answer any questions - for contact details see our Contacts page.

Also on the Airport's website there are e-copies of:

• Runway News which is distributed locally from time to time to let the neighbours know what the Airport is up to!
• the Airports periodic Community and Environment Reviews

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Community Projects Contribution

In the July 2009 agreement with the local planning authrity the Airport agreed to provide £1,000,000 in three instalments (two of £200,000 and one of £600,000) to be spent by Newham Council on landscape improvements and community initiatives benefiting Newham residents within the Actual 57 dB Contour as shown in the Airport's Annual Performance Report and the worst affected areas referred to in the Environmental Statement submitted with the interim planning application

The Airport is already committed to spend:

• £2m towards the cost of environmental improvements in the proposed Silvertown Quays Phase 2 development on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock to the west of the Airport - provided this is built in accordance with the plannig permission in force in July 2009
• £160,000 towards the cost of local landscaping improvements in the vicinity of the Airport

The Annual Performance Report for 2009 and its Appendices was posted to this website on 30th July 2010. Chapter 10 on page 32 deals with the Financial Contributions which the Airport has made.

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Supporting Education

A KEY ingredient of the Airport's Community Programme is support for local schools, colleges, universities and the Newham Education Business Partnership (NEBP) through its involvement in a variety of programmes and initiatives. There is also collaboration with Newham Council in programmes for which the Airport provides funds. There is an outline of these initiatives on our Employment Page and on the Airport's website.

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Airport Tours

The Airport conducts educational tours on a regular basis for local organisations and interested groups within the community - click here for more for more information

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Funday

The Airport's 15th annual Funday - in aid of- the Richard House Children's Hospice in Beckton - took place for the first time in the Royals Business Park on Saturday 2nd July 2011. It is estimated that the event attracted 25,000 visitors.

An afternoon Fashion Show showcased the latest creations of local designers, while the display of the Barclay’s Premier League Trophy attracted young football fans, eager to have a photograph taken with the iconic cup. Fun Day 2011 also saw the first grand finale of East London’s Got Talent, a singing and dancing competition for the residents of East London. Eight finalists battled it out on the day with urban dance group S.O.X. being crowned the eventual winners of the tacets to a Rihanna concert being held at The O2 arena.

The event also saw the return of London's only air show. Awhole host of aircraft took to the skies to perform breath-taking stunts, whiohc much enjoyed by the crowd. The air show included the world’s premier aerobatic aircraft, the CAP 232, as well as awing-walking display. The Spitfire Mk IXB, one of the most famous military aircraft of all time, demonstrated its agility while a set of RV-8tors flew past at speed.

The Airport's Chief Executive, Richard Gooding, said: "We are thrilled that the Fun Day continues to be such a popular day out and the volume of visitors this year pays testament to the success of this fantastic festival. It is an honour to be able to host such an important community event and with the help of local residents, raise so much money for Richard House.”

To see the Airport's pictures of the event, visit the Fun Day website

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Annual Art Awards

Every year the Airport runs an art competition for those living within 5 miles of the Airport.  Entrants are expected to submit pictures featuring the Airport and its surroundings in any way they see fit.  Art and photography shortlisted for an Award is displayed in the passenger terminal near the Meridian Business Centre where passengers can see them.   Exhibiting the paintings and photographs gives passengers an opportunity to purchase them.  Prize money is awarded to the top three winning entries. The Awards are sponsored by the London Borough of Newahm

In 2009 nearly forty entries were received of which seventeen were short listed as finalists and displayed in the airport terminal. All finalists were invited to an awards ceremony at the Airport on 28th April hosted by Richard Gooding OBE, Chief Executive of London City Airport and Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales, where the winners were announced.

• 1st prize £500 - Parvin Khoshdale from Beckton - oil on canvas entitled Hitman, the Proud of Sport
• 2nd prize £300 -Mavis Grant from Ilford - oil painting entitled Healthy Food
• 3rd prize £200 - Lucinda Waits from Moorgate - artwork entitled Pedal Power

Highly Commended - Steve Marriott from Stratford, Anne Neary from Dagenham and Gerry Shevlin from Beckton. They received autographed football memorabilia courtesy of West Ham United Football Club.

The picture (right) shows (l to r) Gerry Shevlin, Anne Neary, Steve Marriott, Mavis Grant, Sir Robin Wales Mayor of Newham, Lucinda Waits, Richard Gooding OBE, Chief Executive of London City Airport, Parvin Khoshdale and Ian Tompkins, West Ham United PLC Head of Corporate Affairs.

All year round different societies or organisations display their artwork in the terminal and donate twenty percent of their profits to the Richard House Trust.

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Awards

The Airport's Community Relations Team are award winning. Most recently London City Airport scooped an award at the Docklands Business Club and East London Chamber of Commerce Awards gala dinner in October 2010.
 
Community and Skills Development Manager, Elizabeth Hegarty, collected the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for the Airport'sTake off Into Work programme, tackling local long-term unemployment, as a part of the Airport's overall CSR strategy. By the date of the Award dinner the project, launched in March 2009, had helped 115 long-term unemployed local residents to gain employment and join the world of work.

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The Airport's latest work in the Community

At each of its meetings the Consultative Committee receives a report from the Community Relations Manager on the Airport's latest work in the community. The latest Community Relations Report** for the for the period 6th July - 4th October 2011, was received by the Committee at its meeting on 4th October 2011.

** This report is in .pdf format and to view them you will need an Acrobat Reader. This can be obtained free of charge by clicking the "Get Acrobat Reader" icon opposite.

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An independent Consultative Committee established by London City Airport pursuant to Section 35 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982
Chairman: John Adshead     Secretary: Stuart Innes
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Page last modified: 7th October 2011