Active Luton, Luton's dedicated sports, leisure and fitness provider, reaches its fifth birthday this week - and there is plenty to celebrate!

Since the launch of Active Luton on 1st November 2005, the number of people who use the leisure and sports facilities in town has risen from 93,000 to 1.3million per year. However, reliance on public funding from Luton Borough Council (LBC) has reduced from 33% to 24%, making it a much more economical service for local people.

Active Luton was launched as a not-for-profit sports and leisure trust and now operates all the public leisure facilities across Luton on behalf of LBC. Within five years the organisation has made big improvements in local facilities and fitness provisions, alongside organising and supporting local initiatives, programmes and events which benefit the well-being and health of the community as a whole.

The organisation is dedicated to making improvements and tackling issues for all age groups, and is the only leisure trust in the UK to include a specific focus on education. By working closely with local schools and the Educational Department at LBC, Active Luton has helped ensure that Luton school children now have the highest amount of high quality PE per week in the whole of East Anglia (from being the lowest in 2005), and have access to a far wider range of provisions including out-of-school clubs plus initiatives such as Sport Unlimited and Chance4Change.

In addition, over 5000 people have been supported by the services provided in the Active Luton Change4Life advice centre within The Mall Luton. The centre opened in 2009 and was the very first of its kind in the UK. In addition to providing health guidance and advice to local shoppers, including the highly popular stop-smoking sessions and specific promotions for issues such as Breast Cancer and Driver Awareness, the centre is also used by the Active Luton Sports Development team to offer free health checks; the success of these led to the launch of Active YOU which promotes healthy lifestyles across the town. Over 400 Health MOTs have been provided so far, and over 16000 people are now members of the Go4Less card scheme which encourages usage of all the health and leisure facilities.

These facilities are the backbone of Active Luton, and the aim of the organisation over the past five years has been to make them accessible and affordable for everyone while maximising the potential of existing facilities and investing in improvements. Ongoing plans for the Marsh Farm Play Park, which is due to open in January 2011, and the Luton Aquatics Centre, 2012, are well underway, but there have been a great deal of developments around Luton over recent years. Over £2 million has been invested in upgrades and improvements at every sports and leisure facility and centre supported by Active Luton, including new health and fitness studios, improved changing areas, modernised receptions and general improvements to ensure that local people can enjoy the best possible facilities.

This broad and energetic approach has enabled Active Luton to support health and well-being initiatives across the community. Activities with many different partner organisations including London Luton Airport, Job Centre Plus, The Cultural Trust and Luton Forum have all allowed Active Luton to make tangible differences to the lives of local people in Luton, regardless of age, race, sex or religion. All the activities have been related to encouraging people to get fit, stay healthy and have fun - while raising vast sums of money for charity in the process.

Helen Barnett, Chief Executive of Active Luton, commented "I'm proud to say that Active Luton has had a positive impact on the lives of the people of Luton. The team at Active Luton has worked hard to build a solid base and even though the next five years will be challenging, I know that with the support of our partners within the community, we'll continue to make a difference and provide opportunities for all those who want a healthier lifestyle."

The Active Luton team celebrated its fifth birthday with partners and organisations from across Luton on Monday night at Hightown Community Sports & Arts Centre.