Award for Council representatives

ELECTED members from Derry City Council were recognized at the NILGA Awards ceremony for its approach to City of Derry Airport.

The award acknowledged Councillors and the initiative taken to maximize the potential of the airport through an innovative public and private sector partnership.

At the event, Councillor Evelyne Robinson, Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) President said: “Let’s consider these awards as a prompt to action. These are not the only awards, nor the only method of publicising what we do well at our Councils. Make no mistake, we do a lot well, right across Councils in Northern Ireland there are very good services, dedicated individuals and many examples of innovation”.

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All 26 Councils in Northern Ireland were invited to make a submission for the Awards which highlight the Best Services, Initiatives, Officers and Councilors from their Councils. With Councils submitting entries across seven categories, a total of 47 applications were received.

Derry City Council entry had followed the progress of governance reform at City of Derry Airport and the series of actions put in place. This included the formation of CODA Operations Ltd., the new Board arrangements and the successful market test that brought together the partnership with Parsons Brinckerhoff, a Balfour Beatty Company, through a management services agreement. Speaking on behalf of the Airport Committee Members, Mayor Alderman Maurice Thompson said:

“The benefits of the approach are the strength of the commercial partnership that is in place, global contacts, improved purchasing ability and specialist aviation knowledge and expertise. This brings an experienced partnership together with an ultimate goal of achieving a positive financial return for local ratepayers through a reduced subsidy while continuing to improve air access for the region and safeguarding of employment”.

Since incorporation in April 2010, CODA Operations Limited is on target to reduce the actual operational costs by £800,000, despite the very challenging economic climate. The operating cost per passenger, using the airport has reduced over the last twelve months from nearly £9 to under £6. The capital investment in the airport during 2009-2010 was £5.9m. September 2011 statistics from CAA show that the airport continues in growth as a regional hub with the rolling twelve month passenger numbers showing a 17.44% increase and an increase in market share to 5.67%.

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