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Great News for Helmdon - posted 19 July 2011
Helmdon has been chosen as the Northamptonshire Village of the Year for 2011. This prestigious award was presented to the Chairman of Helmdon Parish Council, Peter Burns, in a ceremony in Northamptonshire on the 19th July 2011.
John Coatsworth (left) with the Medium Village trophy and
Peter Burns (right) with the Northamptonshire Village of the Year trophy. |
Helmdon beat off very strong competition from many other villages in the whole County of Northamptonshire. Any village in Northamptonshire can take part and there are various categories that entrants are judged on (Small, Medium, Large, & Newcomer to the competition).
The competition is not about picture – postcard villages, but is about people, community spirit and the village life residents generate. Helmdon also won the Medium Village category, with Silverstone winning the Large Village category, Gayton the Small Village category, and Roade the best Newcomer village category. The Village of the Year competition is sponsored by B Hollowell & Son Funeral Plans, and is organised locally by Northamptonshire ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England).
Helmdon has been also been successful in the past, picking up the County award in 1996, 1999, & 2002. The village is vibrant, thriving and has something for everyone. There is tremendous enthusiasm from the organisers of the many and varied regular activities and special events, but there is also a great sense of team spirit. The villagers take great pride in the appearance of their village, but it is the active involvement of the community that makes Helmdon village such a success. Residents are given their say in any plans to improve life in the village, and it is quite incredible how much goes on in a relatively small village. It is the sense of community and participation that makes Helmdon such a great place to live, and this caught the judges' eyes this year.
This is the village’s award, won by all the residents of Helmdon and everyone should be proud of their achievement.
Peter Burns along with John Coatsworth was presented with the Trophy as County overall winner, and special thanks goes to John Coatsworth who headed our application and led the interview session.
David Powell
ACRE Trustee
Missed Out - Again! - posted 05 November 2010
Peter Burns collecting the runners up certificate.
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Despite everyone's best efforts Helmdon was, once again, pipped to the post by neighbours and rivals Syresham in the medium sized village category of the Northamptonshire Best Village competition. Syresham went on to scoop the overall title, with Helmdon in third overall behind Middleton Cheney.
Helmdon can at least boast consistency, having been placed second in the medium villages category in each of the last three years. Perhaps 2011 will be the year to go one better!
Chairman of Helmdon Parish Council, Councillor Peter Burns collected the runners-up certificate on behalf of the village.
Many congratulations to Syresham and all the other villages that took part in the competition - Helmdon will be back again next year!
Click here to see the full results and the judges' comments for Helmdon.
Judges' Visit Confirmed - posted 17 June 2010
The Northamptonshire Best Village Competition judges will be in Helmdon on Monday 5 July 2010 from 10:00 a.m. until noon. The visit will start off at the Bell Inn where representatives from Helmdon groups and organisations will show the judges everything Helmdon has to offer.
Get Set For "VoY" 2010 - posted 27 May 2010
Why would you want to live in this village? Why would you want to visit this village? Those are the questions posed in the 2010 Best Village Competition. |
The Parish Council confirmed at its meeting on 26 May 2010 that the entry forms have been submitted to Northants ACRE for the Northamptonshire Best Village Competition 2010.
With usual sponsors Calor taking a break from the competition in 2010 it is being run entirely locally by ACRE. The format of the competition is slightly different
but Helmdon expects a very strong showing once again.
Any news of the judges' visit will be posted on these pages. The results will be announced on 21 September.
For more information on this year's competition please visit the Northants ACRE web site.
Will There Be A Competition Next Year? - 7th October 2009
Calor have made a decision to suspend the Village of the Year competition in 2010 in favour of something different to celebrate their 75th Anniversary in business. Northamptonshire ACRE are investigating the possibility of retaining a county competition in Northamptonshire for 2010, which may include some changes to content and format.
Whatever happens in 2010 full details will be posted here.
Judgment Day Again! - 29th April 2009
The village had its annual assessment by the judges for the Village of the Year on Monday 27th April.
There were three lady judges and they met with over twenty villagers at the school where tea/coffee and biscuits were served. There was considerable interest in the activities that go on in the village particularly the interacting of the various age groups and the support given to them. A lively question and answer session enabled everyone to comment on particular subjects and indeed everyone who attended made some contribution.
Following the formal part of the visit the judges then took advantage of looking around the school before visiting the Reading Room where the Acorns were holding their session. Leaving there they moved on to look at the church where Ann Smith showed them around and explained some of the points of interest. As they had a limited amount of time the last port of call was the sports field where they were impressed by the state of the ground and the beauty of its views.
The Judges said that they were impressed by the number of people who attended and said that they had enjoyed their visit to the village.
I would like to express my thanks to all who helped with the preparation for the visit, those who helped on the day, and to John Coatsworth who filled in the forms.
Peter Burns.
Monday 27th April date for 2009 Judging - 19th April 2009
The judges for this year’s Village Of The Year competition will be visiting us from 10am for 2 hours on Monday 27th April, the venue being the Green Room, Helmdon Primary School. (You will need to sign in at the Office Reception and then turn down the corridor behind you.) It would be great to have representatives from the Village Organisations there to help with any queries the judges may have, and to present Helmdon in its best light. Volunteers to pour the teas/coffee or bringing some home-made cakes (cost of ingredients will be refunded) would be very welcome. Anyone interested is welcome to join the meeting - just let Liz Hart, the parish clerk know (01295 760130), so that she has an idea of numbers expected.
It's Judging Time Again!
Accommodation at the Bell Inn.
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Visit of the Village of the Year judges – 7th May 2008
We were favoured by a pleasant warm morning for the visit which initially was held on the patio of the Bell Inn where Richard and Sally Phillips kindly supplied everyone with refreshments.
Approximately 25 people attended and the judges were pleased to see such support for the competition. Following the adverse marking in the two previous years regarding the involvement of the older people in the village we were supported by some of our “mature” parishioners, a point not lost on the judges.
There was a lively discussion and question and answer session with most of the parishioners present making a contribution including Joan who is visiting from Australia and is staying at The Bell in their new letting rooms. She praised the web site and was able to find out about people and the village. She is originally from Helmdon and her father was the incumbent at the Church.
The judges had a look into the rooms, and were very impressed with the high standard, before setting off with myself and Liz Hart to explore the village.
First stop was the Reading Room where the Acorns were meeting. They were pleased to see the children enjoying themselves and were impressed with the kitchen area and were quite interested in the “revelation” of the roof area.
Onwards to the school where they were able to see the new play area before going into the school where we were met by Sue Blackburn who showed the various aspects of the school including the new area which was having the finishing touches added.
There was a specific interest in visiting the allotments and the area by the stream which was being cleared to enable the school to have their own area there.
From there we moved on to the Sports Field were they asked about its uses and thought that the playing area and the views were outstanding.
Finally we visited the Church where we were met by Ann Smith who gave us a conducted tour and explained the many facets of the Church and its various organisations that used it.
Finally back to collect their car and to ask that everyone who took the time to be part of the morning should be thanked and that they had enjoyed their brief visit.
Peter Burns
Helmdon Wins Again At Village of the Year Awards - 24th July 2007
Helmdon has been voted the best medium sized village in Northamptonshire
for the second year running in the 2007 Calor Village of the Year
for Northamptonshire contest.
The award ceremony at the Hunsbury Hill Centre in Northampton saw
Helmdon collect the winner's trophy for medium villages as well as
the runners-up trophy for the overall competition, with top spot going
to Kings Sutton who were new entrants to the competition this year.
The award is another accolade for the village and all its residents
and is recognition of all the effort that everyone puts in to making
Helmdon the great place it is.
The full results, along with the judge's marks and comments will appear
on the web site as soon as they are available. If anyone is interested
in Helmdon's participation in the Calor Village of the Year competition
please contact any member of the Parish Council.
Village of the Year 2007 - The Judges' Visit! -
24th May 2007
The judge's visit started and finished at
the village pub. |
The judges visited Helmdon on Thursday 24th May 2007 to judge the
village for the 2007 competition. Chair of the Parish Council, Peter
Burns, hosted the judges and writes the following report...
"Approximately 30 people attended the Bell Inn at 10 o'clock
on Thursday morning. This was yet again wonderful support by organisations
and individuals who came along and this was commented on by the
judges as being the best attended that they had seen.
After introducing themselves they went to the Reading Room to see
the children who were there for the morning session. Caroline King
explained the many functions of the Reading Room and along with
Judy Butler answered the questions that the judges had regarding
the groups involved.
On returning to the Bell there was a lively discussion and laughter
with contributions by many of the attendees and a number of questions
on various subjects which were explained to them by a variety of
speakers. The judges commented on how so many people wanted to speak
on the subjects.
As time had now moved past 11 o'clock and the judges had expressed
a wish to see around the village the meeting was brought to a close.
The first port of call was at the church where Ann Smith had kindly
agreed to show the visitors around the church and churchyard, where
again they were very impressed not only by the state of the church
and its history but by its use as a centre for the community.
Via Welsh Lane we entered the village pointing out the village shop
before arriving at the school where we were met by Julie Crouch
and Niki Phillips who gave us a conducted tour enabling us to meet
many of the children. The judges took great interest in the things
that the children were doing and in the highly varied range of subjects
in which they were involved.
We then went to our final venue to visit, the Sports Club, where
Michael Ayres, the club chairman, was mowing in readiness for the
weekend cricket match. They were very impressed with the setting
and wanted to know more of the proposal to replace the existing
pavilion.
As we were now approaching twelve o'clock we returned to the Bell
explaining the existence of the ceramic group and a more recently
formed arts group. They were also interested to hear of the business
of fruit and vegetable supply run by Paul Duncombe and by his father
for many years before him.
Arriving back at the Bell they were very fulsome in their praise
for the village and its residents remarking that there were very
few houses for sale in the village but this was understandable.
I would like to thank Richard and Sally Phillips for their kind
hospitality, the people who attended on the day and everyone who
makes Helmdon the wonderful community village that it is".
Peter Burns
Chairman, Helmdon Parish Council
Helmdon Judged Best In Class
- 26th July 2006
Helmdon has won the medium sized village class in the 2006
Calor Village of the Year for Northamptonshire.
The award ceremony in Northampton saw Helmdon carry off four certificates
and one cup - the other successes being: runner up in the ICT category,
runner up in the overall competition, and highly commended in the
"Building Community Life" category.
More information >>>
Helmdon Is Best In Central England For
ICT - 6th December 2005
Helmdon has won the Information Communication Technology (ICT)
category in the Calor Village of the Year for Central England 2005.
Special guest and TV personality Alan Titchmarsh presented the
award, which carries prize money of £500, to Helmdon's Webmaster,
Danny Moody, and Web Editor, Audrey Forgham, at a ceremony in London
on 6th December.
More information >>>
Judges' Comments - 14th
September 2005
The judges' comments and marks awarded for each section of
the 2005 competition have been posted here.
More Success For Helmdon
- 28th July 2005
The Canon Dunn Memorial Bowl for ICT. |
The Calor Northamptonshire Village of the Year judges have made
their decisions and the winner is.... Brigstock, in East Northants.
However, coming a very close second was Helmdon, so a very creditable
performance despite not getting top spot.
Better news came in the ICT (Information Communication Technology)
section of the competition where Helmdon won First Place! This part
is judged separately because not all villages are able to enter
as you must have a web site, but there is still a lot of competition
and Helmdon has done brilliantly to beat off all the other contestants.
Helmdon will now represent Northamptonshire in the regional competition
and 2 tickets have been reserved for the village for the awards
dinner in London in December.
In due course we will receive the actual marks obtained for each
section and the judges' comments and they will be posted here on
the web site. In the mean time, congratulations to everyone who
helped make Helmdon's entry in to the 2005 competition a very successful
one.
They Came, They Saw...
- 6th June 2005
The Bell made a splendid
starting point. |
Following our entry to the above competition we were visited by
two lady judges. Coffee and biscuits were supplied by Richard and
Sally Phillips of the Bell Inn which also provided us with a meeting
place. The judges read our comments on the entry form and further
information was provided by approximately 20 members of organisations
who were present. A friendly atmosphere was enjoyed by all.
The visitors then went to the Reading Room where the Acorns were
'in session' where they spoke to the children and took the opportunity
of looking around the building.
Moving on to the Sports Ground we were met by Geoff Gulliver who
briefly described the activities past and present. The ladies were
impressed by the ground and the views from it.
A visit to Paul Duncombe's business was next on our list where he
showed us his cool areas for his fruit and vegetables. It transpired
that Paul buys some of his produce from places known to the judges.
Our next calling place was at Bungalow Stores which the judges thought
provided an excellent range of products and were introduced to Harold
Seckington. Apart from running the local shop for many years Harold
is now the oldest male resident in the village.
The school was next on our journey and so we took short walk from
Bungalow Stores along the path to the school. The judges commented
on the lack of litter and tidiness of the village.
The visit to the school highlighted the growth of the school buildings
and the excellent work that is being achieved there. The judges
were particularly impressed by the standard of artwork and in glazed
panels that the children had made.
We then visited the ceramics class in which the judges showed keen
interest having taken part in something similar themselves.
Our last place to visit was the church where we were met by the
new Rector Will Adams, Jean Spendlove and Danny Moody. Will and
Jean were able to provide a wealth of knowledge about the church
and the churchyard.
Danny had set up his website for the visitors which they had briefly
seen before their visit. Danny showed them many of the areas available.
They were very impressed by the content and the high standard. There
is a separate competition covering this particular aspect in which
we hope that we can be successful.
We had now come to the end of the visit which the ladies said that
they had thoroughly enjoyed. They had been impressed by the standards
of the village and the 'Spirit of the Community' in all of the people
that they had met.
The results for the competition are known in the Autumn and will
appear here on the website.
Finally may I say a big thank you to all of the people who gave
their time and their contributions to the morning with particular
thanks to Richard Bearman for driving us and to David Brookhouse
and Sarah Smith for helping in the organisation.
Peter Burns.
30th May 2005
This year's Village of the Year competition is slightly different
in format to previous years.
In previous years the judges have gone round the village on their
own and unannounced but this year they have let each village know
when they will be visiting and have allowed 2 hours for each village
to put on a presentation.
The judges will visit Helmdon on Monday 6th June between 10:00 a.m.
and 12:00 p.m.
Helmdon last won the Lady O'Dowd Cup in 2002. |
Helmdon has been a recent winner of the Northamptonshire Village
of the Year trophy on no less than 3 occasions in 1996, 1999 and
2002. The only win previous to that was in 1969. Following the pattern
of recent success it is Helmdon's "turn" to win it this
year! But there is much work to do.
The judges don't look just for pretty villages, the competition
is more about facilities and community spirit. That said, there
are marks for cleanliness and so everyone is urged to pick up any
litter in the next 10 days. Last year the village was marked down
because of litter and broken glass left behind on the school playing
field. When competition is tight between villages one or two marks
here and there can make all the difference.
The judge's visit this year is being co-ordinated by Peter Burns,
chair of the parish council. He intends to meet them in the pub
for a coffee on arrival and then escort them to meet some of the
people who make Helmdon tick. All of the village groups, organisations
and businesses have been written to asking them if they would like
to take part and meet the judges. It is hoped that the judges will
be left with the impression that Helmdon is a warm, friendly and
welcoming place and that the people living here have good community
spirit and enjoy living where they live.
Please do your bit to make sure that Helmdon receives the highest
possible marks... remember, judging is on Monday 6th June.
For further information please contact Peter
Burns.
25th November
2004
Litter on the school field
was a real let down. |
The results are in for the 2004 competition and Helmdon faired
well, without being placed. The overall competition was won by Bugbrooke,
with Culworth winning the churchyard of the year, Stoke Doyle winning
the best conservation churchyard and Bugbrooke also took the award
for 'Most Active Community Village'.
Helmdon's scores were quite good overall but a couple of areas let
us down. In the "best kept village" section the village
scored 21/25, losing points because of litter. The judges said "Mostly
good but quite a lot of litter on the school playing field and car
park and in Station Road". The total score in this category
was 92/100 so the litter problem was enough to prevent us being
near perfect otherwise.
In the 'Most Active Community' competition we scored less well -
a total of
63/100. Here the judges commented that they were "surprised
there was so little environmental activity in this most active village".
Little did they know when judging took place in June that only five
months later a new wildlife and conservation group would be formed
as a result of the recent parish plan. This means the village should
certainly score highly on this next time.
The entry forms for the 2005 competition have been received by the
parish council and with all the new initiatives going on in the
village we should be in with a good chance!
13th July
2004
The village has once again entered this competition.
Judging took place in June and we await the results. Helmdon has
traditionally done well because of the strong community spirit and
the amount of activities going on. Watch this space for further
news!
17th September 2003
At a meeting held on 15th July it was decided that because
of all the commitments to the Parish Plan, it would be impossible
to service our application advantageously, and in the event we declined
to enter. However, permission was obtained for us to apply for entry
into the national IT web competition, and this is proceeding.
24th February 2003
Because Helmdon won the Northamptonshire Village of the Year for
2002 we have the opportunity to progress to the regional competition,
and then the national finals in October 2003.
In order to decide whether Helmdon would submit an entry for the
regionals the Parish Council organised a meeting of the village
groups on Friday 21st February in the Reading Room.
The overwhelming YES! vote means that, Helmdon will indeed represent
Northamptonshire at regional level. A number of names were collected
to form a steering committee and they will meet in the coming weeks
and months to decide how to progress. We will follow the news and
views of the steering committee on this page, so check back often
to find out what's going on. |
