Northants ACRE Best Village Competition

Hartwell Parish Council decided to enter this years best village competition, Hartwell has entered before and WON (1998) and we thought that as we are on the cusp of launching the Parish Plan project it might be a nice idea to see what ‘outsiders’ thought of Hartwell and what the community has to offer!

In previous years the competition has primarily been about the presentation of a village, so a village would be rated on its gardens and outdoor spaces but over the years it has evolved into a more community life based competition which covers everything from general village life to IT.

The judges made it clear they were not looking for perfectly clipped lawns and an immaculate playing field but wanted to know about the people of Hartwell, so the Parish Clerk sent emails, placed notices on the boards and website inviting group leaders and residents to come forward if they wanted to take part on the day of the judge’s visit.
The Clerk had lots of people willing to spare some time to meet the judges to talk about their life and involvement in the village and trying to fit everyone into a 2 hour slot proved to be a military operation!

We started by meeting at the School where Mrs. Clancy and her staff kindly gave up their staff room for us to serve refreshments and home made cake. The judges took us through our written application
which the Clerk had filled in some months ago. They asked questions on housing, the environment, community events, the church, the school, public transport, communication, the elderly and disabled, businesses and employment, art and history, sports and leisure, crime prevention and Neighbourhood Watch, new residents and visitors, charities, children and young adults, Parish Council and sustainability. Mrs. Judy Webster and members of the Parish Council were on hand with all the answers and lots of information and interesting facts - it’s only when you start talking about it that you realise how much goes on in Hartwell!

Mr. Phil Sorrell gave a short presentation of the community website and talked about its popularity since launching and how it has bridged the gap between our twice yearly newsletter in providing up to date information via its calendar and news pages. He also explained how each of the user groups has the ability to manage their own pages with useful information.


We then took a short walk to the Community Centre where we peeked through to see the Pre-School in action and met Mrs. Elaine Andrews who is the group leader. While there, Mr. Simon Smith briefed the judges on the hard work done by the Management Committee to bring the centre back from the brink of closure to a now financially viable asset, as well as telling them about its plans for improving the facilities with a lounge area and updating the play area.

We then strolled down Forest Road pointing out village businesses that provide employment for village residents as well as showing them the old school, now a house, the war memorial, shop, old chapel development, conservative club, clock, notice boards and pub.

We then entered the church yard where we were greeted by Mr. & Mrs. Buck who told us a bit about the history of the church and then showed us around the grounds where we met Emma of the British Conservation Trust, who are rebuilding the dry stone boundary wall. Mrs Buck told us about future projects such as the restoration of the chapel painting, new church roof and the involvement of residents from Oak Leaf Care in trimming the hedges as part of their recuperation.

We then entered the church to see the school children who were celebrating the end of the school year with a special assembly. Class 1 sang beautifully and the judges were impressed with Class 2’s poem about their time in Mr. Fox’s class.

Outside we met Mrs. Lynne Barber Guide Pack Leader, Mrs. Justine Turner Beaver Pack Leader and Mrs. Amanda Davies Brownie Pack Leader, who told the judges about the group’s involvement in community life. From litter picking to carol services the groups participate in village activities on a regular basis and the Beaver group have even adopted a hedge at the playing field and have been learning about the different species of birds and animals that reside there.

We moved onto Rowley Wood Lane where we popped into the cemetery and then into the Pocket Park. Mr. Derek Hawley and Mrs. Sue Hamilton told the judges how the area has been transformed from a grazing land to a thriving natural habitat. The sun was shining and the judges enjoyed a stroll round the park taking in the new information boards and locally crafted benches.

We finished in the allotments were we told the judges about the community of hard working residents who spend hours cultivating their produce, many of which enter the village produce show in September where their produce is auctioned off in an entertaining and exciting auction where you daren’t scratch your nose for fear of buying a giant marrow by accident! The judges were very impressed by the obvious hard work and care taken by all the plot owners.

All in all the judges seemed very impressed with life in Hartwell and now we wait for September when they reveal the winners…….watch this space!

Emma Webster
Parish Clerk