Luton Rising
Building political support for contested aviation growth
How we helped
Industry
Client
Luton Rising
Our role
Cavendish delivered an integrated government relations and corporate communications programme to support Luton Rising’s expansion plans.
From 2023, we provided strategic counsel and delivery across political engagement, media relations and wider stakeholder communications, helping the organisation navigate both local and national dimensions of the DCO process.
We developed a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy spanning MPs, parliamentary candidates, civil servants, trade unions and regional political leaders, while ensuring consistent and credible messaging across audiences.
Alongside this, we delivered a proactive media and thought leadership programme across national, political, aviation and infrastructure media, positioning the expansion as a driver of economic growth and regional regeneration.
A core part of the strategy involved prioritising engagement with stakeholders least predisposed to support the proposals, helping create space for constructive dialogue and reducing political risk within the planning process.
Our role evolved to include wider communications strategy, business engagement and issues management support as the political and stakeholder environment continued to shift.
The challenge
As Luton Rising advanced plans to expand London Luton Airport, the organisation needed to build political and public support for a major infrastructure project within a highly sensitive and contested environment.
Airport expansion sits at the intersection of economic growth, regional development and environmental impact — creating complex political dynamics within the Development Consent Order process and wider public debate.
Success depended on demonstrating the national and regional economic value of expansion while navigating growing political and public scrutiny around aviation growth and environmental impact.
The organisation needed a communications and engagement strategy capable of building broad-based support, reducing political risk and shaping the narrative around growth, connectivity and regional investment.
The impact
The programme helped build a broader and more resilient base of political and stakeholder support around the expansion proposals during a highly contested planning process.
Through sustained engagement and targeted communications, Cavendish helped strengthen understanding of the project’s economic and regional growth case across political, media and stakeholder audiences while reducing political risk within the Development Consent Order process.
In 2025, development consent was granted for the expansion of London Luton Airport, enabling the project to proceed despite significant scrutiny and opposition throughout the planning process.