Luminus pick up award

The Luminus Group has won a national award for its part in regenerating the Oxmoor area of Huntingdon.

The company's work, along with the Oxmoor Opportunities Partnership - a group of 32 local organisations formed to help create a safe, vibrant community in Oxmoor - over the last seven years is said to have succeeded in breaking the cycle of deprivation, improving community safety and in giving residents a better quality of life, the citation said.

Luminus won the Sustaining and Regenerating Neighbourhoods category at the UK Housing Awards, presented by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and Inside Housing magazine at a ceremony in London.

The work has made improvements to the Oxmoor area by using brownfield space to develop new homes, improving the physical infrastructure and facilities and introducing neighbourhood wardens, the institute said.

"The work has resulted in a more positive image of Oxmoor and has attracted new people and families into the area."

Luminus Group chief executive Chan Abraham said: "This award is a testimony to the importance of staying the course in order to bring about lasting change in communities.

"The success of regeneration at Oxmoor has been based on visionary and decisive leadership, belief that change is possible and persevering commitment by residents, staff and the many partners who have been involved."

Mr Abraham is pictured accepting the award from Jeffrey Adams, chief executive of United House, which sponsored it.

* Staff at the Luminus Group raised £1,000 for Children in Need last week. The Huntingdon-based group held a dress down day for all staff and organised a lunch, where toasted sandwiches, ploughman's lunches, cakes and sausage rolls were on sale. There was also a book sale and a competition.

A round-up of Children in Need events is on Page 15.