Projects currently funded

Arts and Heritage

Culture Trust Luton was awarded the Arts and Heritage category award in March 2023 for a project centred round commissions of public art and public engagement activity centred on the themes associated with them. Details will follow in due course.

Education

The Education category’s first award was made to Dallow Primary School in March 2022, for commencement that September. Highly targeted – and successful – interventions in English and Maths are being made by a full-time teacher dedicated to the role to close the learning gap exacerbated by Covid-19 in this multi-cultural school where a high proportion of pupils come from families where little or no English is spoken.

Environment

The first Environment award was made to Groundwork East in March 2022 for a project to regenerate a section of the River Lea in Luton. The project has six aims:

Improve the diversity of plants & wildlife in the River Lea
Reduce the negative impact of invasive non-native species along the river
Reduce the risk of flooding
Create a beautiful green space that the community value, appreciate and use
Engage the local community in caring for their river in the future
Secure additional funds

Health

The latest award for Health was awarded to the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) in March 2024. Over three years, ROS will be creating Luton’s first specialist support service – Better Bones for Luton – for those with, or at risk from, osteoporosis in the town.

Statistics show that 35% of Luton’s population either have or can be expected to develop osteoporosis, yet there is currently no specialist Fracture Liaison Service at L&D Hospital, no ROS volunteer support group in the town and lower than national average diagnosis rates.

Social or Economic Disadvantage

Azalea was awarded the latest grant in this category in March 2023 to care and support women who have been trafficked from abroad for sex work. The Anti-Sex Trafficking worker that the Steel grant supports works partly out of Azalea’s recently-funded van which has been refurbished and kitted out as a mobile safe space for these vulnerable women.