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April
23rd 2003
A large audience for the
2003 Annual Parish Meeting |
On April 23rd the Reading Room was crowded for the Annual Parish Meeting.
The chairman of the Parish council, Peter Burns, welcomed residents
and introduced the guests present, and congratulated the village on
becoming Northamptonshire's Village of the Year for the third time
in six years. He said that it had been decided to progress further
in the All-England Village of the Year competition, and that further
news would be circulated in due course. He also announced that the
village web site www.helmdon.com
had been voted the UK Villages Online Web Site of the Year for 2003
and congratulated the webmaster and all those who had been involved
with it since its inception.
County councillor,
James Shepherd-Cross |
The county councillor, James Shepherd-Cross, spoke about the deficit
in funds at county level which prevented such recurring complaints
as potholes being remedied, and also expressed his concern that the
government intends imposing a housing plan on the county which seems
excessive and all the political parties are opposing it. The head
teacher of Helmdon School, Sue Blackburn, detailed the involvement
of the school with the community. She mentioned the recent formation
of a school orchestra and said that they, and the school choir, may
be available to enhance village events. She also spoke about the school's
plan for a breakfast club and out-of school club, and hoped that they
might become reality in the near future. The village beat officer,
PC Tinker reported that with 20 incidents in 2002 the village was
still a safe place to live, and to emphasise this, councillor David
Brookhouse stressed the importance of the neighbourhood watch scheme.
Lastly, Danny Moody outlined the Helmdon Parish Plan which hopes to
report to the village with an open day in July.
The chairman then asked for questions and comments from the floor.
A topical issue seemed to be the re-organisation of the bus services
into a taxi-bus service, which has been instigated on a trial basis.
After the meeting light refreshments were served, and there was
a great deal of informal conversation. The village web site was
also on display for those that hadn't had an opportunity to see
it before.
Links in this section >>
Report on the Annual Parish Meeting
in 2002
Report on the Annual Parish Meeting
in 2001
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