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Alan Titchmarsh at
the award ceremony. |
Helmdon won the ICT (Information Communication Technology) category
in the Calor Village of the Year for Central England 2005.
Special guest and TV personality Alan Titchmarsh presented the
award, and prize money of £500, to Helmdon's Webmaster, Danny
Moody, and Web Editor, Audrey Forgham, at a ceremony in London on
6th December.
Helmdon beat off stiff competition to win the county competition
in July and so progressed to represent Northamptonshire in the regional
contest competing against villages from Derbyshire, Leicestershire,
Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
The judges commented that “Helmdon’s website is funded
and managed by a committee and really demonstrates the way in which
a community can use a website to support local life. Following a
well implemented Parish Plan and a concerted effort to work with
those new to technology, over 80% of Helmdon’s residents own
computers – at least 15% higher than the national average –
and this is due to the proactive and innovative approaches taken
to ICT. Well done Helmdon – a great entry!"
It is hoped that the prize money can be spent on improving access
to technology for everyone in the village, but particularly for
the elderly. For those living alone a computer can be a real lifeline
to friends and family.
Village of the Year County Competition
Webmaster Danny Moody with the Canon
Dunn Memorial Bowl and Web Editor Audrey Forgham with the
winner's certificate. |
Helmdon finished runner up to Brigstock in the Calor Northamptonshire
Village Of The Year for 2005 (medium villages) in a close-run points
decision. Brigstock also went on to win the overall DEFRA Village
of the Year competition.
Going one place better Helmdon won 1st place in the ICT competition,
which looks at a village's web site and other IT provision. Helmdon
will now go forward to represent Northamptonshire in the regional
competition for Central England, to be judges in December.
The VoY judges, who visited Helmdon on June 6th, were very impressed
by Helmdon's entry. They said there was an overwhelming feeling
of community spirit and that the village had a tremendous amount
going on.
The county Village of the Year competition is organised by Northamptonshire
ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) and the awards were
presented to the winning villages on Wednesday 27th July at a special
meeting held at ACRE's Hunsbury Hill Centre in Northampton.
The Canon Dunn Memorial Bowl for ICT was presented to the chair
of Helmdon Parish Council, Mr Peter Burns, who said "This is
a good day for Helmdon, a lot of effort went in to this year's competition
and the awards are a credit to everyone involved".
The marks and judges' comments were:
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Maximum
Marks
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Marks
Awarded
|
Remarks
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Building Community Life
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80
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75
|
Vibrant community with an active P.C. and
comprehensive Parish Plan with an organization in place to
implement the many aspects of the Plan. Activities for young
and old covering a wide range of interest.
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Business
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10
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9
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Wide range of businesses as identified on
entry form, who sponsor and support the village in many ways.
|
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Young People
|
20
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18
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Well looked after by the P.C. And future benefits
pinpointed in the Parish Plan. Many interesting activities
available for them.
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Older People
|
20
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14
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They are well looked after and integrated
in the community and take part in the activities offered.
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|
Environment
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20
|
15
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As a result of the Parish Plan a new environmental
group has been formed to further improve environmental issues.
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General Impression
|
25
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25
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A very enthusiastic, friendly, welcoming,
active, well-organized and well-kept village with something
of interest for every single inhabitant. The "Helmdon
Talkabout" is a big contribution to the population in
a varied, interesting and informative way. It felt like a
privilege to live in this village of approx. 900 inhabitants.
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Wow Factor
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25
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25
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The Meeting took place in the pub "The
Bell", where we were given a professional set-up program
for our visit and introduced by the Chairman of the Council
to 21 persons, representatives of every club and the church
in the village. It was a very impressive performance Thereafter
we visited the V.H., where the playgroup and toddlers were
present, the sportsfield and pavilion, a business in the village,
the school and sportsfield+playground area around it, a private
ceramic class, the church, with moveable pews to create more
space for events, like a fresh produce market. This was a
first class presentation from a village with an amazing community
spirit and fundraising results.
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TOTAL AWARDED
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200
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181
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Links In This Section:
•
Village Of The Year Celebrations - November 2002
• Calor
Gas Village Of The Year Web Site
•
Northamptonshire ACRE
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