Village voice summer 2012

HELMDON VOICE
www.helmdon.com Summer 2012
Olympic Fever Comes to Helmdon
Children and adults alike have got into the sporting mood with some Olympic themed sports and games. Helmdon
Acorns Pre-schoolers held a torch procession to open their Sports Day holding high their own creations whilst the pupils at the Primary School enjoyed a trip to Buckingham to watch the real thing. With the School Field too waterlogged for a traditional Sports Day, the Primary School instead held a procession and dance followed by a torch relay round the village. Meanwhile on the opening night itself, Helmdon Sports Club held its own version of
London 2012 with sporting events for the children, a live band, Zumba demonstration, a BBQ and many stalls.
….. and don’t forget the Hurler!
The 3rd Helmdon Hurler is on Monday 27th August. It is a 4.3 mile run around the Astwell Track and through
Helmdon village. The time to beat is 24:53, although there are plenty of people coming in after the hour mark too!
The entry fee is just £10 in advance or £12 on the day (Affiliated runners £8 in advance and £10 on the day). Five to seventeen year olds pay just £5 in advance and £7 on the day. See www.helmdon.com for details.

Tanks-A-Lot planning application update
A retrospective planning application for the operation of the Tanks-A-Lot site was lodged at SNC in the autumn of 2010. As extra information was required by the
Local Authority including a traffic survey and additional details about the operation at the site, the application has taken much longer than usual to determine.
The Parish Council is opposed to the development for a number of reasons; the case is expected to go before the
Development Control Committee at SNC
on Thursday 9th August.
Wind Farm Enquiry News
The report of the Planning Inspectorate was released on Thursday
12th July. Elizabeth Fieldhouse agreed with South Northants
Council and those members of the public who took to the witness stand, stating that the turbines would “become a dominant feature with adverse impacts on the small scale landscape”.
Describing the development as “unpleasantly imposing and pervasive” upon the inhabitants of Stuchbury Hall Farm, she nevertheless upheld the appeal, commenting that “the totality of the impact of the proposal … is not sufficient to outweigh the wider economic and environmental benefits of the proposal”; thus Broadview Energy Ltd have now received planning permission to build 5 turbines 125 metres high between
Greatworth and Helmdon. The details of the Inspector’s decision can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/c39repn .There is also a very interesting article written by Colin Wootton a retired planner from Sulgrave http://sulgrave.org .
Andrea Leadsom, our MP, has written to Rt Hon. Eric Pickles, Sec.
of State for Communities asking him to call in the application and
Sir Michael Pitt, Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate to express her disgust: details are at www.andrealeadsom.com If you wish to do the same, the contact details are as follows:
(Photo taken from Tanks-A-Lot website)
Weather causes recycling problems
Residents may have noticed problems with the garden waste recycling vehicles depositing liquid waste on to the highways.
This has been caused by extremely lush vegetation (due to the large amounts of rain) being compacted in very hot weather producing a liquid which, although non-
toxic has an unpleasant smell.
SNC are aware of the problem and will clean roads which are badly affected.
Please contact SNC on [phone number removed] if needed.
Rt Hon Eric Pickles
Secretary of State,
Eland House,
Bressenden Place,
London,
SW1E 5DU
Sir Michael Pitt
Chief Executive, Planning Inspectorate
Room 3/13, Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quary
Bristol
BS1 6PN
SNC and HSGWAG are both taking legal advice to evaluate any other actions which may be taken.
The Inspector wrote “ the proposed turbines…would be conspicuously out of scale with the intimate river valley landscape”

Helmdon Flower & Produce Show
Saturday 18
th
August
The closing date for entries to the show is Wed.
15th August. Entries are welcomed from anyone resident in Helmdon and Falcutt, past and present pupils of Helmdon Primary School and Helmdon
Acorns Pre-School and members of the Gardening
Club. In recent years, fewer children than previously have entered, so children’s entries would be very welcome. Check your leaflet for more details; if you have mislaid it contact Julia on
[phone number removed] or pick one up in The Bell.
News from the WEA
A new 10-week adult education evening course will start on Tuesday 18th September "The Gift of the Nile: An
Introduction to Ancient Egypt" – a concise overview of the development of Egyptian civilization, emphasising archaeology and monumental architecture. Fee is
£52:50 or FREE if on certain benefits. Richard
Farquharson on [phone number removed] (daytimes) or
[email address removed]
Acorns win potato competition
Children at the Pre-School were delighted to learn they had won a potato-growing competition organised by
Buckingham Garden Centre. Their potato crop was the heaviest of twenty local schools that entered , winning them £50 of garden centre vouchers.
Last year’s floral entries were glorious
Morris Men seek new faces
The all-important weigh-in
Brackley Morris Men are holding an open taster session at the Greyhound Inn in Brackley on
Saturday 22nd September at 11am -1pm or 2pm –
4pm. Otherwise, come to an open practice night at Brackley Junior School, Manor Road, at 8pm on
Thurs 20th or Thurs 27th September. All you need is a little rhythm, a bundle of energy, and a big smile on your face. Our heritage is four hundred years old and we're keen to keep it thriving with new members. We’d love to see you. Stephen
[phone number removed] www.thebrackleymorrismen.org.uk
HYHO report a record breaking ball
Around 250 Helmdon Ball goers had a fabulous evening on 30th June, not only having fun and dancing the night away to the “Funkadelics”, but also raising money for great local causes. The Ball committee would very much like to thank those who dug deep, buying raffle tickets and bidding generously for the great auction prizes as well as the kind sponsorship from VW Towcester,
Macintyers Estate Agent, Stella Artois, The Butler's
Pantry and Barclays Bank. We are still waiting for some monies but it is expected to be a record year!
Art Group in the Reading Room
Whistley 2000 Scout Group
Contact Brian Marshall for details of art classes, which run every Monday on [phone number removed] or
[email address removed]
The group reports an active year, especially now the climbing wall is in place! New Beaver leaders are still sought – the contact is [email address removed]

Parish Council Contacts News from the WI
Peter Burns – Chairman Tel: [phone number removed]
Sarah Adhemar Tel: [phone number removed]
Mike Barnes Tel: [phone number removed]
John Coatsworth Tel: [phone number removed]
Paul Duncombe Tel: [phone number removed]
Bill England* Tel: [phone number removed]
Helmdon Women's' Institute continues to hold interesting and enjoyable meetings every 2nd Wednesday of the month,
7.30pm at the Reading Room. In September we have a talk about Barrel Organs, October is our Harvest Supper and AGM, whilst in November we shall be making a Christmas
Arrangement with the help of Deborah Page from Barn Farm
Plants. Our 5th December Meeting will be a Christmas Party.
Visitors and new members are always most welcome.
Danny Moody Tel: [phone number removed]
Gemma Simpson Tel: [phone number removed]
Eddie Garner Tel: [phone number removed]
Email contacts for the Cllrs are on the website.
Liz Hart – Parish Clerk Tel: [phone number removed]
parishcouncil@helmdon.com
*Bill is also the Village Neighbourhood
Watch Co-ordinator
Diary Date:
Wed. 26th Sept 7:30pm – Council Meeting
Acre’s Bulk Oil Service – Update
Last autumn saw the launch of the
Northamptonshire ACRE Bulk Oil Buying
Project. We’re pleased to report that it’s fully up and running and our membership has grown to over 100. Details of prices and average savings are shown below:
Month Average market price quoted
Final price achieved after negotiation
Member savings per
500 litre order
October 59.00p 53.97p £25.15
November 61.50p 55.50p £30.00
January 60.20p 54.90p £26.50
End January 61.50p 56.45p £25.50
End June 54.00p 47.80p £31.00
Now is a great time to buy as the summer months usually give the best prices. Helmdon’s
Co-ordinator is Bill England on [phone number removed]
([email address removed]) so please get in touch to start to enjoy the significant benefits.
Louise Stothard, President, [phone number removed]
Helmdon Presents
This November sees a couple of very exciting professional productions. On Wednesday 7th we have New Perspectives
Theatre telling Dickens’ tale of the Christmas Carol. Tickets £20
for a family or £8 for an adult. On Saturday 17th November we have a drama called Misery adapted from Stephen King’s award winning novel… a dark and twisting tale which enthrals from the very beginning to its climactic and unexpected end.
Tickets £8 from Viv [phone number removed] or Morag [phone number removed].
Church Fete
Thanks to all involved, the fete raised £2501.57.