Village voice autumn 2011

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE TITLE OF THIS VILLAGE NEWSLETTER TO BE?
PRINTABLE SUGGESTIONS TO PARISH CLERK PLEASE.
It’s Official! Helmdon, Winner of
Northamptonshire Best Village
Competition 2011
At a ceremony in Northampton on
19" July 2011, Helmdon was declared the best medium village and also overall winner of the
Northamptonshire Best Village competition 2011. A silver cup and certificate was received for both categories.
The competition, organised by Northants Action in Communities in
Rural England, is open to all villages in Northamptonshire in three categories by village population, small village (less than 500), medium village (500 to 1000) and large village (over 1000). Initial entry is by completion of a 12 page questionnaire about most aspects of village life followed by a visit by three competition judges on
10" June 2011.
Continued page 2
Welcome to the new look village newsletter
Over the past few years Talkabout magazine has been published and distributed throughout the parish twice per year.
The results from the parish plan refresh survey earlier this year suggested that a significant number of people did not consider the content of Talkabout to be particularly relevant, particular concern being the fact that most of the group activity articles were historical. This fact coupled with the difficulty of recruiting an editor caused the parish council to consider the best way to communicate in future.
The achievement of Quality
Council status requires that a newsletter is produced four times per year and the decision was taken to abandon the previous format and produce a smaller and simpler document for distribution four times per year.
Welcome to the first issue! To develop the format we really do need to know what you would want to be included in future issues. Thank you.

Best Village competition continued from page 1
Representatives of village groups met with the judges at The Bell before visiting the church, the new Acorns building and the
Reading Room before concluding with a tour of the village.
The feedback from the judges includes favourable comments about all the individual aspects of the village community. Their final summary includes the following observations:
Y Something for everyone
Vv Athriving village v Sense of team spirit
Y Inclusive community
Y Pride in appearance
Y Active involvement
Vv Effective and well balanced
Having received the cups and certificates, the parish council decided not to commit funds to a display case which would be used for 12 months only. John
Coatsworth [phone number removed]) will be the custodian and subject to two days notice will arrange delivery to any group or individual that wishes to see them.
In accordance with the rules of the competition, the overall winner is not allowed to participate the following year.
Sincere thanks go to all who participated in this achievement.
Bridge repairs
–
but when?
Station Road Bridge
—
an update
The traffic restrictions at the bridge are well known to most and a source of frustration to many. However, the reason for the present arrangement and the potential remedial actions may be less widely known.
The parish council expressed concerns about the general poor state of the bridge and specifically the safe load bearing capacity to
Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) during 2010. A survey of the bridge in late 2010 proved that the main beams beneath the centre of the road were adequate for the imposed load but that the structure at the edge carrying the parapets was not suitable for the loads imposed by traffic. In the interests of safety, the present light-controlled system was introduced to confine all traffic to the centre of the road.
The bridge and is owned by British Rail Residuary with responsibility for repair shared with Northamptonshire County Council. It is understood that funding for the repairs is in place.
After some difficulty in obtaining information from NCC about the progress towards a permanent solution, we have been advised that the repairs will involve the infilling of the bridge arch plus embankment works on both sides. Legal negotiations are underway with all affected parties. Anticipated completion date is April 2012. We have been promised regular progress reports and these together with time scales for the works will be communicated in future newsletters and via the
Parish Council section of the village web site www.helmdon.com.

The Quest for Quality Council Status
The Quality Council Scheme was launched in 2003 and revised in 2006
with the aim of providing a benchmark minimum standard for parish and town councils throughout the UK. Quality status requires a council to demonstrate that it is:
e Representative of the whole community
¢ Communicates with its parishioners e Is properly managed and responsible
Demonstration of strict compliance with 10 specific and detailed tests is mandatory for achievement of Quality status.
Helmdon
— soon to become a Quality Parish?
In May 2011 the parish council set up a working group to identify what needs to be done to meet the required standard. The working group reported to the council in July 2011 that compliance with 6 of the criteria exists but that further action was needed to fully comply with the remaining 4 criteria.
After due consideration of the amount of time and effort involved to achieve full compliance, a time line was drawn up from which it was established that 13 months would be needed to complete a compliant portfolio for submission for assessment by the County Accreditation
Panel.
At the July 2011 parish council meeting, it was resolved to proceed towards Quality status with a target portfolio submission date to the
Accreditation Panel of July 2012.
Grab a pen and paper
As part of its drive towards Quality status, Helmdon parish council invites submissions for a new council logo. The design can be traditional or modern, it is completely up to you. The logo must look good in black and white and colour and be reproducible in both large and small scale. Entries are welcome from individuals of all ages or groups and the design should include what you consider makes Helmdon a special place to live in.
Jubilee
Celebration
The Parish Council invites your ideas on how to mark H M the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Previous events have been marked by commemorative mugs for all the children at the school and a public bench at the Church
Street pump garden.
How do you think the jubilee should be celebrated by the village? No restrictions on ideas; think as big or small as you like.
Please submit all entries for both the above by email or hard copy to the Parish Clerk by 18"
November 2011. Winning entries will be showcased at the April
2012 Annual Parish Meeting.

Parish Council
The names and contact details of members of Helmdon Parish
Council are:
Peter Burns
—
Chairman
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Sarah Adhemar
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Mike Barnes
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
John Coatsworth
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Paul Duncombe
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Bill England
Tel: [phone number removed]
bill [email address removed]
Danny Moody
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Gemma Simpson
Tel: [phone number removed]
[email address removed]
Liz Hart
—
Parish Clerk
Tel: [phone number removed]
parishcouncil@helmdon.com
Reduce your heating oil cost
Northamptonshire ACRE has been looking at practical ways to reduce the cost of heating oil in rural communities. Oxfordshire Rural
Community Council (ORCC) has set up a social enterprise that can reduce the cost of domestic heating oil by joining a community based countrywide oil buying syndicate thus making the most of collective buying power.
Members of the scheme pay a small annual membership fee, which is generally recouped in savings from the first order, before negotiations are held with every oil company that supplies premises in the area to ensure the best price is achieved.
The Oxfordshire scheme is proving a great success and
Northamptonshire ACRE has agreed to buy into the ORCC franchise to enable a similar scheme to be set up in Northamptonshire.
In order to register your interest and find out more about the scheme you are invited to complete a very short survey at www.northantsacre.org.uk/2011/07/.
If you do not have access to the internet please telephone Beth Milne on [phone number removed].
News snippets
The 200 Club
The first year of the club has been very successful and the current annual subscription ends on
31% October 2011. The recent AGM of the committee decided that in the year commencing 1* November 2011, five prizes per month will be awarded instead of the four per month at present. All current and prospective members are invited to give themselves a chance to win one of the monthly draw prizes whilst raising funds for Helmdon church and the Reading Room by taking out the next annual subscription before 1* November 2011.
Walking for Health
Roger Miles, who organizes and leads the Helmdon walks has received an Exceptional Service Award from SNC. The award also recognizes
Roger’s role as Parish Paths Warden in ensuring paths are maintained and extended where possible together with the publication of four leaflets, available free, with details of permissive footpaths in the parish.
The well attended walks have enjoyed fine countryside and varied routes, some of which were only possible by the generosity of local farmers in allowing diversions from public footpaths which is much appreciated. Well done Roger!