The Link Magazine Winter 2013

Issue 76 Winter 2013

www.thelink-magazine.co.uk

The community magazine of East Hunsbury | West Hunsbury |Wootton Wootton Fields |Hardingstone | Collingtree | Grange Park

Contents

LINK THE

MAGAZINE Issue 76

Edited by Lucy & Charlie Slater editor@thelink-magazine.co.uk 30 Hyde Close Roade Northampton NN7 2LT 07769 688238 / 07850 438316 The editors reserve the right to edit all material submitted. Submissions are included at the editor’s discretion. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers or the editors.

Inclusion of advertising material in this magazine does not imply any form of endorsement by the publishers.

The Link Magazine is a quarterly publication, delivered to the residents of East Hunsbury, West Hunsbury, Wootton, Wootton Fields, Simpson Manor, Hardingstone, Collingtree and Grange Park in March, June, September and December.

Cover image kindly provided by James Risby Photography ©.

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Wootton Primary School

6

West Hunsbury Parish Council

12

Hardingstone Residents’ Group

16

From St Benedicts

Carmela’s Kitchen

18

From Brian Oldham

22

From Andre Gonzalez de Savage

26

The Princes’ Trust

28

Bovis Homes Update

32

From Jill Hope

36

Wootton & East Hunsbury PC

40

Christian Celebration

44

Christmas Services

45

21

S. Northants Community Responders 46

All contributions and advertising and delivery enquiries should be directed to the editors on the above contact details.

Please note that the deadline for contributions for issue 77; Spring 2014 is 21st January 2013.

Welcome to Link 76

From Andrea Leadsom MP

51

Abbey Community Theatre

55

From Phil Larratt & Brandon Eldred

57

Friends of West Hunsbury Parks

60

Directory

62

Advertiser’s Index

65

Useful Telephone Numbers

66

2435 Hevey link thumbs_AW.pdf

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Welcome to issue 76 of The Link Magazine!

With winter on its way, now is perhaps the time to get the boiler and the car serviced, both of which are available to you through services provided by some of the great advertisers within the magazine! Also it’s time to get those tax returns in - again flick through and you’ll find help on your very own doorstep!

We have received some wonderful contributions for this edition and we hope that these capture the essence of what The Link Magazin is all about; providing you, the community a link to the great work that so many people are doing out there ensuring that the area in which you live is a great place to be. So please continue to send us your articles and we will endeavor to include them. Just keep them positive…. that’s all we ask!!

And on that note it’s time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2014!

Lucy and Charlie

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A family run coffee shop selling coffee, tea and cold drinks.

Homemade cakes, pastries, freshly filled rolls, sandwiches as well as ice creams, milkshakes and confectionery at very competitive prices.

We are situated next to the Wootton Opticians and the Tudor Pharmacy And we have full disabled facilities and a mums and tots play room.

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One year on . . . Our first year as an Academy The beginning of October saw us celebrating the first anniversary of Wootton Primary School as an Academy – and what a year it has been. The school continues to develop in a positive way as all members of the school community strive to be the best they can be.

A year on is a good time to reflect on the positives and minuses for us as a learning community. Having all the school budget has meant that we can get expert help and support to children and families much earlier, including speech/ language work, dyslexia screening and educational psychology. We have a new School Business Manager, Mrs Onley. Additional teachers have been employed to support small group teaching. The academy maintenance grant has enabled us to modernise and improve the school premises and environment to the benefit of both the children at the school and the community groups who make use of the school. ICT provision has been updated and improved. Our next big project is to create some innovative new “breakout” learning spaces this year. Academy status has also provided challenges in terms of running the school as a limited company and keeping abreast of legislative changes – a responsibility firmly with the school leaders and governors.

roof to reading on a bike during the Roman Challenge.

This year’s Shakespeare Schools Festival took place on Wednesday 6th November with a group of 30 talented children from years 4, 5 and 6 performing ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at the Derngate Theatre.

Do you have a child who will be starting school in September 2014?

The admissions procedure is open on the Local Authority website. If you have a child who will be four years old between 1st September this year and 31st August 2014, you need to apply for a school place by 15 January 2014. We held a series of well-attended open sessions for prospective families to look round Wootton Primary School in November.

Want to know more?

To find out more about Wootton Primary School Academy Trust, visit www.wootton. northants.sch.uk, or email the Governors: woottonprimarygb@wiggiomail.com

The Wootton School Association Christmas Fête

Saturday 7th December from 1-3 pm.

Santa’s grotto, Christmas crafts, lucky dips, refreshments including a chocolate fountain, a toy tombola, a raffle with

fantastic prizes and more.

Autumn 2013 The new reception classes have settled into school well and are thoroughly enjoying the new experiences school has to offer. All year groups have held successful cake sales as part of their enterprise projects. The new School Council representatives have been elected and are already working on a number of exciting initiatives. Our new approach to lunchtime is certainly having an impact on enjoyment levels. The KS2 children have been having great fun playing 3 legged football with the giant ball! The new lunchtime working group are full of great ideas to make lunchtimes the ‘Best They Can Be! The readathon took place over two weeks at the beginning of October with children rising to the challenge of reading as much as they could every day and coming up with ingenious / extreme places to read, from sitting on a vacuum cleaner or a garage

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West Hunsbury Parish Council – Summer Survey Over the summer months the Parish Councillors arranged street meetings to meet residents to collect their views on the issues and improvements that they would like to see in West Hunsbury.

plans for these two sites that were raised as concerns by residents.

The Parish Council recognises that the summer surveys has only provided a snap shot of residents views and is planning to undertake a more extensive consultation exercise in 2014.

232 separate comments were made by residents and these were grouped into 14 headings and presented to the Parish Council at its September meeting.

The results will be used to plan some immediate short term improvements and to planning longer term improvements.

Parish Councillors •

John Crouch

•

Brian Hoare

•

Tony Holford

•

George Hook

•

Richard Matthews

•

Sarah Parkin

•

John Smyth (Chair)

•

Stephen Tomlinson (Vice Chair)

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Overgrown bushes and litter on the path

Gathering residents’ views

Indoor Short Mat Bowls

One of the clear messages from the residents was that the parish council should not spend money on issues that are the responsibility of the Borough and County Councils.

The Parish Council is arranging meetings with both the Borough and Council officers to discuss the problems raised by residents and to establish the level of service that the Parish Council and residents can expect from the two councils.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never played before we will help you learn. It’s great fun.

We meet in the youth wing of the Abbey Centre. We have 3 mats and 3 full sets of bowls.

Coffee is served at half time when there is the chance to chat.

You can come for a couple of sessions free of charge to see if you like it. Then it’s just £2 per evening. Everyone needs to bring flat indoor shoes or slippers to preserve our mats.

6.45pm – 9pm Thursdays at The Abbey Centre East Hunsbury

The Parish Council has also written to the land owners of the Rose & Claret Pub Site and Milton Ham (Junction 15a), to arrange meetings to discuss their

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Hardingstone Residents’ Group HRG members have taken on upkeep of the planter at the Eleanor Cross roundabout end of the village. Gale George is maintaining the one at the Warren entrance.

The team were out and about in the rain on Sunday 13th October carrying out another litter pick in the village.

And, a week later, on Saturday 19th October we hosted some daft games and tombola at the Hardingstone Village Hall Fair. We donated boxes of tins and dried goods for Gaynor and Paul to add to their collection for the food bank and passed over all our takings from the event to the Hardingstone Action Group to help in their campaigning against the housing development.

We had absolute fun and mayhem running the games stalls: the little ones loved trying their hand at hook a duck. Young Ava (pictured below) managed to pick the name of the rabbit and won not only a new furry friend, but a trip for her family round Santa’s Grotto; a prize kindly donated by the team at Northampton Garden Centre. Charlie (right) meanwhile was simply delighted that he got one of the ducks all on his own – a brilliant feat – they’re quite elusive little quackers! Tyler (no picture), at only seven, got the highest score with the darts – 119.

The mystery man won the mystery prize – a £20 voucher towards a family meal at the Queen Eleanor; thanks to Caroline, the manager.

As for the adults; Kevin Barton and Arthur Davis proved themselves both good of eye and arm managing to knock the nail in with only three hits of their mighty hammer – well done both.

As usual our thanks to all those of you who have supported our events throughout the year – we hope you’ve enjoyed them.

Have a great and peaceful Christmas!

Chris Miller on behalf of HRG

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Brown paper packages tied up with string Thus sang Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, as she twirled around a bedroom, the Von Trapp children joining in with splendidly improvised harmonies as they went. We may not use brown paper quite so much these days in our present-wrapping, but it's the string I want to focus on here.

Amongst other things, Christmas is the season of giving, the time of year at which most gifts are given. If I mention string alongside thinking about giving gifts, it's another phrase that tends to come to mind, even more so than the one that Julie Andrews sang. What phrase is that? A gift with strings attached. What exactly do we mean by that? A present that carries with it certain expectations. Yes, it is a gift, but it's not a pure gift. It brings with it obligation. The obligation may not be spelt out explicitly. The giver may not even know exactly what they expect of the recipient.

And yet many of us will know the feeling of a gift being given with strings attached.

There may well be generosity behind it, but there's something conditional about the generosity.

Let's be candid. It's very easy, and quite understandable, for much of our giving in life to be like that – to have at least some small strings attached. If we devote time or energy or finance, or all of these, we expect some return for our efforts. We may be giving to our family, to a job, to a voluntary organisation. Put it this way, to give in these contexts without any strings attached at all may be quite difficult and quite rare. What might we reasonably expect in return? Sometimes, some recognition and appreciation for our efforts. Gratitude would be nice. It's not normally that we're giving in order to gain recognition. But if there is none at all forthcoming, that can be hard.

So why do we give gifts at Christmas? For some, its simply a good time of year to show our appreciation of those closest to us, by giving them a gift, to demonstrate our gratitude. That's a very good thing to do, and Christmas is a good time to do it.

For others, we're aware of a definite link between our giving of gifts and God giving, at Christmas, the gift of his son Jesus. In what sense is Jesus a gift? He demonstrated so clearly the overflowing goodness and love of God. He shared memorably deep wisdom as to how life is best lived. To be in his presence was to taste the presence of God himself. Gifts don't come much better than that.

So does the gift of Jesus have strings attached? No! This gift is the purest gift of all.

God's giving is precisely that – just giving. God has no interest in coercing a response, or manipulating people into a feeling of obligation. God doesn't attach strings. May that be very clear indeed.

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And yet, that's not the end of the story. A gift, especially one with no strings attached, is part of a relationship. When we receive such a gift, we can exploit it, or we can respond well. When a friend receives the gift of friendship, good responding isn't measured by the financial value of gifts given in return, but by the genuine interest and affection of the friendship they share. When a child receives the gift of parental love, responding well includes learning to love in return, and gradually growing in the responsibilities they take on. So, if Jesus is indeed the pure gift of God, given that first Christmas with no strings attached, let me leave you with a question to ponder: How can I best respond well to God's Christmas gift of Jesus?

I hope you receive this before our Christmas fair – this year on Saturday December 7, from 2 to 4 pm. We're delighted that once again the choir from Hunsbury Park Primary School will be singing, and there will be the normal excellent range of stalls, games and refreshments. All are welcome!

Our special Christmas services are as follows: Sunday 15th December 6pm Carol service, followed by mulled wine and mince pies Sunday 22th December 4:30pm Christingle services – for all the family Christmas Eve 4:30 & 6pm Christmas Eve 11:30pm Midnight Mass Christmas Day 10am Christmas Family Communion Our monthly church cafe continues, nearly always on the first Wednesday of each month, 11am to 2pm. It's been great to see a gradually increasing group of folks enjoying the hospitality, wonderful food and camaraderie that our great team puts on.

The next few dates are December 4, January 8 and February 5. NB - the January cafe is not on New Year's Day, but on January 8 – for reasons you might be able to work out for yourself…

Whatever the season ahead holds for you, and however it seems to you, may I wish you inner strength, joy and peace this Christmas season.

Rev Jonathan Kimber Vicar of St Benedict's, Hunsbury Serving East and West Hunsbury, Camp Hill and Briar Hill 01604-768624; jrkimber@yahoo.co.uk www.stbenedictsnorthampton.org.uk

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th Lea e I rn ta to lia co n ok wa y!

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Chocolate Amaretto Brownies Preheat the oven to 180C Line a tin, I used a 10"x15" 1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a simmering pan of water.

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2. Meanwhile, in another bowl mix the eggs, vanilla, sugar and flour. Mix well.

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From Brian Oldham;

your West Hunsbury Councillor

I hope this message finds you well and looking forward to the festive season.

Since my last message some of the things I wrote about have moved on, and there have also been some further developments on both local and Borough wide issues.

On the local front I am pleased to say that I have been able to help the Friends of Hunsbury Parks, Northamptonshire Acre, and Hunsbury Park Primary School, through my Empowering Councillor Fund.

For the Friends, a new bench installed near the first car park, close to the Shelfleys play area off Ladybridge Drive. Added to this funding has been put in place, for the Friends to create a "Wildflower Bed" at the entrance to Wootton Brook Playing fields, also off Ladybridge Drive.

I am equally delighted to have assisted Northamptonshire Acre, in helping them with a contribution towards their exciting project creating a new garden area.

Also it is very pleasing to be able to help pupils of Hunsbury Park Primary School with funding towards their travel costs in order for them to attend a performance of Wind in The Willows at Derngate in December, and for them to attend the Big Sing at Wembley in the New Year.

As your Local Borough Councillor I have requested litter bins to be installed at the bus terminus on Dayrell Road which serves the number 12 route, and at the bus stop outside St Benedict’s Church which serves the number 10 route. I've also requested an additional litter bin to be installed at the entrance to the Shelfleys play area.

There are still regular / daily issues that I'm dealing with on your behalf like parking, speeding, trees & bushes, and pathways etc. Also the situation regarding the former Ironstone Pub, which I hope to have a clearer picture and understanding about by when next I write to you.

Bovis have submitted a Planning Application to develop land to the south of Rowtree Road, around Collingtree Golf Course. They are proposing to develop 1,000 houses, and Taylor Wimpey are expected to submit a proposal for at least a further 400 houses on the site in due course. The access to this development is to be off Rowtree Road, and will obviously have an impact on the local road network, including the roads throughout West Hunsbury. The application can be viewed on the Borough Council’s web site, www.northampton.gov.uk On the Borough wide front some items I mentioned in the previous edition of the Link have moved on.

•The new North Gate Bus Station will open on 2nd March 2014.

•Demolition work will commence on the Greyfriars Bus Station on 31st March 2014

and will be completed by January 2015. This will open the site, and adjacent other

sites for, predominately for retail development.

•Work will start in April 2014 to open up the middle section of Abington Street to

traffic, providing much needed on street parking in this area of the town centre,

thereby increasing footfall and making it a more attractive area for retailers, as well

as improving access to the Central Library.

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•Planning permission has been granted for a new hotel on the Albion Place Car Park and surrounding area, and building work will commence in January 2014.

•Planning Application to develop the Sixfields area, including the Cobblers Stadium has been submitted, and it is hoped that this will be determined before Christmas.

•The Saints are due to submit a Planning Application to develop Franklins Gardens and increase the capacity of the ground before Christmas. This application should be determined by February 2014.

Regarding the Grosvenor Centre, Legal and General will be carrying out a £3million refurbishment of the entrances to the Centre. This work will improve them both internally and externally. It is hoped the works will be completed by Christmas 2014. While this is not the large commitment we want from Legal & General to completely re-develop and extend the Centre, a commitment we are still pursuing with vigour, it is a step in the right direction.

This is all good and positive progress towards keeping our Northampton Alive projects, improving and developing our town, moving forward.

How refreshing it is to have a progressive, positive, and pro-active Borough Council Administration under the Conservatives as opposed to the negative and inactive one that we had to suffer under the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2011.

Please be assured of my commitment to representing you, the residents of West Hunsbury to the best of my ability, and feel free to contact me regarding any matter where you feel I may be of assistance to you.

I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all an enjoyable Festive Season, and a very happy and successful 2014.

With All Good Wishes, Councillor Brian Oldham West Hunsbury Ward 9 Parsons Meade, West Hunsbury, Northampton NN4 9PS 07891 364643 cllr.boldham@northampton.gov.uk

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From Andre Gonzalez de Savage

your East Hunsbury & Shelfleys County Councillor I am delighted to have been re-elected to represent the residents of East Hunsbury, Shelfleys and Collingtree Park on Northamptonshire County Council. I appreciate the confidence and trust you have placed in me. I am grateful to all those who voted for me, and I remain committed to working for all residents of the area. Please feel free to contact me at any time.

As we enter our third term in office as a Conservative Administration, the experience of making the decisions that benefit the people of our great county has reinforced our belief that foresight and responsibility are far better attributes than the narrow focus that accompanies the chasing of headlines and ‘sticking plaster solutions’.

Our business is about investing today for tomorrow. Across all our services, Councillors and council officers continue to work to secure a better future for our communities across the county.

We are making great strides in ensuring development and investment continues apace. Development of and investment in our young people, as well as the county’s highway and technology infrastructure, is at the forefront of continuing efforts to ensure Northamptonshire is a great place to live and work.

Our successful bid for New Generation Superfast Broadband Infrastructure funding to implement our local broadband plan, bringing potential internet speeds of 30Mb/ sec for every household in the county, is in the top five schemes nationally to have received the green light. We will have 90% coverage of superfast broadband by the end of 2015 with 100% coverage by the end of 2017. Detailed planning is already underway and this will give Northamptonshire a cutting edge advantage in trying to bring in new business and build the capacity of existing businesses and communities.

Even with the terrible winter impact on our roads, our innovative road maintenance strategy has meant better fixes, a 25% reduction in complaints and a 50% reduction in insurance claims.

Fifteen other local authorities have now adopted our maintenance strategy. We have also secured an extra £3.7 million to help with the unprecedented winter weather impact.

We will continue to make sure that Northamptonshire has the lowest Shire County Council Tax in England whilst also continuing to accelerate levels of investment to increase jobs and prosperity.

Wishing you all a very good Christmastime and healthy 2014.

Andre

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Tel: 01604 367813 AGDeSavage@northamptonshire.gov.uk

26/09/2012

19:34

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The Prince’s Trust

Young things improving our community Someone mentioned to me that some youngsters were “helping do up” Hardy Drive Community Centre in Hardingstone and that I should take a look. So I popped along with my mate Arthur – another gardening enthusiast – to do just that, since we’d already offered our help to keep the front garden in good order.

The two of us (both definitely not young; but in our prime you understand) proceeded to have an absolutely fantastic time with a gang of hard-working teenagers, who it turned out were from the Prince’s Trust. We were so impressed by their efforts that I suggested publicising their work in the Link. The “crew” and their team leader Wayne Taylor jumped at the idea, so we all hope you read on to learn more…….

Tresham College in Kettering is the service provider for the Prince’s Trust in Northamptonshire. Teresa Battensby is a Hardy Drive stalwart and her grandson, Luke, had been involved with the PT group on their last project at the Abington View Care Home. When Teresa went along to the award ceremony after that assignment she decided to approach Wayne to ask if he would take a look round the HDCC to see if he would consider taking it on as the next task. He said he would and, good to his word, turned up in September. He visited again soon after with a bunch of lolloping teenagers. Once they’d checked the place out they agreed to help Teresa improve the centre. And vastly improve it they have!

But first things first: they had to raise the money. The group put their young heads together and produced a business plan to deliver, and present to, Barclaycard. They created a plan of action, what materials were needed, the costs involved, and what the end result would look like. Barclaycard can award between £50 and £650; it all comes down to the plan and presentation. Six of the team went along, held their collective breath, and went for it……and were duly awarded the full £650! To supplement that award, on they went raising more money by helping pack shopping bags, and standing in daft fancy dress outside retail outlets.

Then the hard graft began. Not only did they completely redecorate the large community room, but ended up totally re-vamping the back garden too! They split into small teams and sanded down walls and woodwork; painted; swept; dug and cleared the back garden to put down decking and gravel for ease of

use.

Endless cups of tea and coffee were made, and of course, their mobiles were never far away! Not content, they made good the outside wooden benches; built a brick barbeque and two large wooden flower boxes. Oh to be young again, but what a finish and what a superb job.

Wayne told me that for each youngster this type of project forms part of a 12 week team development plan. It offers support on their educational journey towards fulfilling their hopes and aspirations; the end goal obviously being future employment. The young people involved came from all types of backgrounds and cultures. This course helps not only to bring them together and learn to work in, and as, a team but also to instil that much needed confidence, and probably the most important aspect; to be strong and believe in themselves and what they can offer society going forward. They have great leadership under the guidance of Wayne; one sentence from him summed the situation up – “that lot there are our future”. As you can see they hold their elders, Theresa and Sandy, in high esteem!

Arthur and I had such an incredible time with them. We learnt a lot! The laughter and jokes came thick and fast, and the banter was non-stop. It was pure chance that we became involved with Wayne and his troops, allowing us to witness “up close and personal” the good that can come from organisations such as this. It was unexpected, unforgettable, and a privilege to be able to get to know them and share in a tiny part of their remarkable achievements.

Arthur and I had already agreed to keep the front tidy and in so doing, unknowingly, simply added the final touch to a fabulous transformation. We will now also keep a check on all the hard work at the back as well by taking on board planting up and looking after, the wooden flower boxes.

Good on Teresa for pursuing her thoughts and ideas, and a huge THANK YOU to all of those who made Teresa’s wishes come true – Wayne and his merry band at Tresham College through the Prince’s Trust and Barclaycard for this and all their other charitable donations.

The silver haired independent bunch that frequent HDCC can now kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour for many happy years to come.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. Wishing you the best Christmas ever.

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Tina Sweetser and Arthur Davis

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Bovis proposed development of 1000 houses at Collingtree– update By the time you read this you should already be fully aware that Bovis submitted two planning applications on 7th October. These applications may be determined before Christmas or very shortly thereafter. I hope you have already taken action to make your objections known to the NBC planners and the NBC councillors on the planning committee.

The first of these planning applications is for outline planning permission for 1000 houses.

The second is for detailed planning permission for 380 of the 1000 houses – this relates to the first phase of the 10 year build and will be accessed and built via Windingbrook Lane where the existing Golf Course shop is currently. These 380 houses are computed to produce a minimum of 3400 extra car movements per day and possibly as many as 6270. This is based on the normal accepted planning range of movements per car per day and a fixed one and one half cars per dwelling. These estimations ignore site traffic that could be considerable. All this increased traffic will severely impact Rowtree Road.

this we are planning to commission an independent study of the traffic assessments made

by Bovis and make our representations to the Highways Authority of NCC before they decide to advise the NBC planners of their view of the traffic congestion impact. The full 1000 houses produce a minimum of 9000 traffic movements and a maximum of 16500.

It is indeed hard to believe these figures but this is the template calculation advised to us by the NCC’s Highways Authority experts AND please remember that there is still land west of the Bovis site and, under the control of Taylor Wimpy, where they want to build up to 400 houses when they get the opportunity.

This is a further minimum of 3600 movements and a maximum of 6600.

This additional uncertainty needs to be nailed and removed; hence resident’s inertia is very dangerous.

It is proposed that construction will start as soon as possible and certainly by early 2015.

Average housing density is said to be 33 per hectare but will vary across the site within a probable range of 25 to 40 per hectare.

We are having fantastic support from our local councillors, Phil Larratt and Jonathan Nunn as well as our MP, Andrea Leadsom. If enough residents now back this latest push we may all find the effort is well rewarded.

From 2017 onwards the new access road from the Rowtree Road/Lichfield Drive junction will be progressed as well as subsequent phases of house building and further re-configuration of the golf course.

If you have registered with Hunsbury and Collingtree Residents Alliance (HCRA) you will have been receiving emails to keep you up-to-date including details of how to make your views known to the NBC planners and the NBC councillors on the planning committee. We have also indicated suggested wording for the various objections and arguments you might wish to use but please remember that individual emails and letters will be more effective, so a husband, wife and their adult children should each send a separate submission. You should use your own wording and not just copy somebody else’s wording,

We all know that there is overwhelming objection to this development but local residents’ representations have not been able to stop this development progressing.

In fact the consultations have been exercises in tokenism and consideration of legal action maybe appropriate but a poor consultation or in deed the actual lack of any consultation is not, we have been advised, an issue that can stop a development. Whatever happened to the promise of localism and making local residents wishes paramount? Don’t forget that the inspection of the Joint Core Strategy for West Northamptonshire over whether the land should be allocated, as a suitable site for development and for how many houses, is still ongoing but the latest proposed revision following the examination in April should be known by the time you read this and even the public consultation started over the changes suggested.

Traffic congestion is the worry that unites all residents but other items such as air pollution and noise will be of concern for the new house owners / occupiers particularly if the dwellings are close to the M1 motorway. Flooding is also a great worry to those close to the Wootton Brook whether in Collingtree Park or downstream thereof.

Issues that concern individual residents can still be raised with the NBC planners and councillors on the NBC planning committee. It is however traffic that we believe is the item that can best be validated/challenged as realistic analysis can be made. Bear in mind that it is accepted that traffic volumes will increase significantly generally over the next 10 years and hence there is no valid argument that the future will mitigate traffic congestion. Due to

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For those now wishing to register with HCRA so as to facilitate registering objections to the Bovis proposal, the details are below: Email address

h-c-r-a@hcra.co.uk

Website address

www.hcra2013.co.uk

Once registered, full details of email addresses of councillors on the planning committee will be provided as well as how to use the NBC planning website to raise your objection(s) to the development.

Bob Boulter and Rod Sellers on behalf of Hunsbury & Collingtree Residents Alliance "An alliance of residents in Collingtree Village, Collingtree Park, Spyglass Hill, East & West Hunsbury"

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Jill Hope - hoping to be an effective voice for the ordinary person Since May 2013 I’ve been your county councillor for Sixfields division which includes more than half of West Hunsbury, Briar Hill, Hunsbury Meadows, Upton, most of St James and including Saints and Cobblers grounds.

That’s c. 10,000 local residents and about 5,000 households.

Many people don’t know what a county councillor does – one of my contacts recently expressed surprise that I had a job, as she thought that being a county councillor was my paid work. Ordinary county councillors get an allowance, and that is to cover the cost of being a county councillor. I spend quite a lot of that on the FOCUS leaflets, which come through your letterbox every 2-3 months all year round, not just at election time. This enables me to report back to you on exactly what I’m doing as your county councillor.

Between Focus leaflets you can check my website for more recent updates about issues affecting your area: www.jillhope.focusteam.org.uk One of the striking things I found out during the May election this year was how few people knew who their county councillor was, let alone what he or she was doing.

By putting leaflets through every door every 2-3 months with my contact details on, I hope that everyone will know how to get hold of me easily if they have any issues.

Wootton WI

We meet on the second Wednesday of the month (except August) at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall, High Street, Wootton (opposite the church).

You are very welcome to come as a visitor, and if you would like more information, look at our notice board on the wall near the Wootton village store or ring;

Janet Blackbourn 01604 767438 Gabriele Castle 01604 674746

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Frequently people call me about problems that are not county council issues but borough council issues. That’s fine. Personally I think it’s crazy having two councils in Northampton, and my Party, the Lib Dems, are pushing for a single authority in the town, if only because hardly anyone understands the difference between borough and county. If someone has a problem I will try to help them, and it makes little difference to me if it’s a borough or county issue, I’ll do my best to sort the matter out.

Most of my time as a councillor is spent on casework, working with people with school access problems, housing problems, parking problems and highways problems. Sometimes, when there are several people with the same problem, I’ll try to bring them together to form a pressure group. I also attend parish council meetings, residents’ group meetings and interest group meetings to get the sense of what’s affecting people across the whole division. Unfortunately, with such large divisions, these meetings do tend to clash, and I can’t be in two places at once, but I try to allocate my time evenly.

I travel here there and everywhere meeting people and following up on issues they have raised, and then I liaise with officers in both councils to try to get them resolved.

It’s a lot of miles, a lot of phone calls and a lot of emails, but when things are resolved and people’s lives are really changed, that’s great.

Above all my role is to be a voice for the people who feel they don’t have a voice – the young woman in a terribly damp and mouldy house looking for help to relocate, people upset at the disruption to their lives caused by a local takeaway, people who have raised problems with both councils and feel they have been ignored. When officials don’t respond, people frequently feel deeply frustrated and don’t know what to do. They come to me in real despair, and I try really hard to help them. I can’t always fix everything, but at least they don’t feel ignored any longer, and frequently there is a resolution.

I’m proud to have been given this opportunity, and I am here for you.

Councillor Jill Hope 07887 995653 jillhopelibdem@btinternet.com www.jillhope.focusteam.org.uk

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From Your Parish Council – Setting the Record Straight a response to previously published articles; “an independent view of life in Wootton”

We would like to address concerns raised in articles submitted by an isolated parish councillor in previous issues. Both articles contain misleading, unfounded statements, which we wish to challenge with accurate facts and set the record straight.

Parish Budget We can confirm that the finances are in good a shape. One key aspect of this is the fact that we have built up the Parish Council’s reserves to around the level that our Auditors recommend. For some years cash reserves had not been at this level, and we felt that such reserves were more than was necessary, preferring to put your money into children’s play equipment, litter picking, and all sorts of other improvements instead. With the campaign to support two Parish Councils instead of just one, it was essential that money was available for this, by putting it aside for reserves, rather than using it to improve the area. Claims about costs reducing to run two parish councils are unsubstantiated, which when challenged openly in the Parish Council meeting completely fell apart. Our figures, which have been subject to public scrutiny and continue to be, show that the impact on the area as a whole is that the parish council element of your council tax will need to rise in the Wootton area to cater for the parish split, due to the increased overheads in running two parishes. In order to provide the 8% Parish Council tax saving that was suggested to you if you voted for a Parish split (not 8% of your whole council tax bill, as you may have been led to believe, but £5.28 per year for a band D property) the reserves built up will simply have to be depleted over the short term.

David Linnell joined us as our new Clerk. David is a qualified Auditor who audits twenty-two other parish councils which was a key reason for employing him, given the complexity of our finances due to the range of our activities. It was, however, essential that we got training for David to support his knowledge of Sage software as he was not fully familiar with it, and some assistance with setting systems up in a way that he was entirely happy with. We also had the end of year approaching, which brings a large amount of finance work, and there was by that point a backlog that needed bringing up to date. We believe that the right thing to do in that case was to engage someone with the skills to deliver that training and support, just for the time that we needed them and not permanently, which is what we did.

David identified an expenditure item that had been allocated to one accounting year rather than to the previous year as it should have been, and asked for this error to be correctly allocated, which it was. Our External Auditor has also signed-off the accounts satisfactorily.

Community Centre The cost of running the Wootton Community & Sports Centre has remained consistent and the current level of bookings for groups, parties, weddings, and so on

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is generating money back in excess of previous years. The level of success that the Community Centre is achieving is as a result of the continued work that Ted Paterson, our Operations Manager, and his staff have put in. It is a public building though, and it costs money to run it, and the finances of the Centre is one of our main focuses, but we believe that we have the balance between charging fair but full rates for its use about right. The building is well used throughout the week from toddlers groups through to the Seniors Club and as a party and events venue at weekends.

Library Members of the Parish Council have been instrumental in ensuring that we keep a good library in the Wootton area, and have put an enormous amount of time into discussions with the County Council to ensure that this happens, followed by design work with the Friends of the Library group and our Architect. This is a major issue that requires endless work and significant protracted discussions and negotiations, but we remain resolute that this be achieved, and that there will not be cost put onto local residents through their Parish Council tax. Thanks to those of you who have seen the plans on display in the temporary library and commented positively on them.

David Wilson Homes Work continues to be put into the transfer of the land from David Wilson Homes to the Parish. We would have loved to conclude this sooner, but timescales such as those we have had to endure are not so unusual in these matters, and we have been clear that we will not take on land that causes cost or difficulty to the Parish or to

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residents, for example because it is in a poor condition or the money due to be paid to us to maintain it is not available.

Bovis 1,000 homes at East Hunsbury / Collingtree Councillors have spent hundreds of hours involved in this issue, including meetings with the Borough Council, creating alternative proposals, meeting with residents, running exhibition displays for Borough Planning Committee members, visits to meet with our Member of Parliament and others in London to discuss this, etc. We received five hundred responses from residents to the survey that Parish Councillors undertook in conjunction with the Hunsbury & Collingtree Residents Alliance.

Police Commissioner’s Plan for a School at Wootton Hall The Parish Council has obtained a Community Asset Transfer for this land, which means that the land cannot be sold and used for another purpose without the community (through a Parish Council or Residents’ Group) first being given good time to acquire the land to preserve it for community use.

We hope that this has helped to clarify some of the concerns previously raised.

At the Parish Council we love contact from local people and all of our Councillors’ personal contact details are displayed on our notice boards around the parish. Every day we respond to queries and points raised by residents, both through the parish office and to each of us individually. Quite uniquely, we do not limit the public speaking time at our formal monthly meeting, generally going well over the allotted time for the public session, not limiting people to the usual three minutes to speak, and allowing them to chip in if they have something to contribute to any other item on our agenda.

Please do get in touch with us if you want any more information about the things referred to here, or if there is anything else that we can help you with. We are working hard to ensure that Wootton & East Hunsbury continues to be a great place to live!

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2014 Jonathan Nunn (East Hunsbury resident & Parish Council Chairman) Andre Gonzalez de Savage (Simpson Manor resident & Parish Council Vice-Chairman) Des Savage (East Hunsbury resident and Parish Cllr.)

Gary Gurney (Wootton Fields resident and Parish Cllr.)

Jean Penny (Wootton village resident and Parish Cllr.)

Margaret Hill (East Hunsbury resident and Parish Cllr.)

Stewart Bartley (Wootton village resident and Parish Cllr.)

Suresh Patel (East Hunsbury resident and Parish Cllr.)

Yvonne Rayner (Wootton village resident and Parish Cllr.)

Please note that this is an edited version of the original article. The full version is available to view on the parish notice board and online at www.woottonpc.co.uk

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Christmas Services 2013 A Precious Baby Ever had a baby in the house? You will have noticed if you have! It’s amazing how much time, effort and focus we give to one so small. How a baby can become the centre of all our attention.

A relative of mine works in a pioneering Family Nurse Partnership programme in which specially trained nurses work with young, disadvantaged parents expecting their first child. The work is intensive, often complex and rarely easy. In the team’s office, they have a beautiful pair of baby’s booties. Why? To remind everyone that right at the centre of all that they are doing is a precious baby.

At Christian Celebration Church, we believe that right at the centre of all that we do at Christmas is a precious baby, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was given so that we may have life.

‘And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.’ (1 John 5:11-12 of the Bible) How can you have this life? Simply by asking Jesus to be at the centre of your life. Then, come along to Christian Celebration Church at 10am on Sunday so that we can celebrate your new life with you and help you to learn more about it.

We look forward to seeing you!

Rachel Clarke – Pastor of Christian Celebration Church

South Northampton Partnership of Churches Abbey Centre Baptist Church Saturday 21st December 10am – 1pm Christmas Tree Festival and Coffee Morning Sunday 22nd December 10.45am Christmas Service with input from KALEIDOSCOPE young people 6.00pm Carols by Candlelight followed by mincepies.

Christmas Eve 12—1pm Hunger Lunch, Proceeds for Christian Aid 11.30 pm Midnight Holy Communion Christmas Day 10.45 am Carols and a Message St Francis and St Therese Catholic Church Christmas Eve 9:00pm Christmas Vigil Mass Christmas Day 9:30am Children’s Christmas Mass St Benedict’s Church of England Saturday December 7th 2pm – 4pm Christmas Fair with a variety of stalls Sunday 15th December 10.00 am Holy Communion 6.00 pm Carol Service, Followed by Mulled wine and mincepies Sunday 22nd December 10.00 am Holy Communion 4.30pm Christingle Service Christmas Eve 4.30 pm and 6.00 pm Christingle 11.30 pm Midnight Mass Christmas Day 10.00 am Family Christmas Service St Mary’s Church of England Sunday 15th December 5.00pm Christingle Sunday 22nd December 5.00pm Carols and Christmas lights in the Garden; an informal gathering to celebrate thecoming of Christmas Christmas Eve 3.30pm Jesus’ Birthday Party A celebration to celebrate the decoration of the Crib, especially for children of all ages –a real party!

11.00pm The First Mass of Christmas Christmas Day 10.00am Carols around the Christmas tree Towcester Road Methodist Church Thursday 19th December 7.30pm Thursday Club Carol Service, Collection for The Stroke Association Sunday 22nd December 3.00pm Family Carol Service followed by mincepies Christmas Day 10.00am Christmas celebration Led by members of the Church Family Collection for the “Live at Home” scheme.

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The purpose of a Community First Responder Group is to provide emergency medical care until the professional service arrives on scene.

It is important to understand that we do not replace the professional service, but we are able to provide necessary support and assistance until their arrival.

Community First Responders are primarily called to attend “Red 1 and Red 2” emergency calls, these are 999 calls which the East Midlands Ambulance Service deem to be “Serious and/or life threatening” and therefore by their very nature need medical help to arrive as quickly as possible, usually within the 8 minutes from the 999 call being made.

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These types of calls are classed as medical emergencies, and can happen both at home, work and in public places. “Red Calls” are usually where the patient is suffering from some the following illnesses or symptoms:Cardiac arrest, Unconscious and collapsed patients, Chest pains (e.g. heart attacks and acute angina), Breathing difficulties (e.g. asthma, acute on-set bronchitis/emphysema, COPD), Diabetic emergencies (e.g. hypoglycemia), Fitting or Convulsions (e.g. epilepsy), Stroke (CVA), Anaphylaxis (allergic reaction), Choking patients Like all First Responder Schemes across the county we receive no funds from central sources and rely entirely on fund raising, sponsorship and donations.

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From your Member of Parliament

Andrea Leadsom

It’s always a pleasure to write something for Link Magazine as it means I can update you on a few things. Last time I wrote on planning matters as I know this is an issue for the area and I would like to do the same again as there have been some developments over the summer.

There is great concern regarding house building in Hardingstone and Collingtree with 1000 homes proposed on the edges of each community.

The Council has now received an outline planning application for each, as well as a detailed application for the first 380 homes at Collingtree. Now is the opportunity to raise issues with Northampton Borough Council and reiterate the concerns that local residents have including flooding, traffic congestion, school provision and employment opportunities. I have raised these matters with the Council and will continue to do so.

I visited Hardingstone recently and met with quite a few residents to discuss the proposed area for development. Again my message is to make the Council aware of your views! I suggested to residents that they may want to raise issues such as the ‘village status’ of Hardingstone, provision of doctors surgeries and school capacity and the protection of green spaces. I have also called on the Council to delay any decision on a planning application of this size until the Joint Core Strategy public inquiry has been completed.

As I have said on many occasions, for too long Northamptonshire was seen as an area earmarked for massive development, under the regional spatial strategy of the last Government, without proper consideration given to local views and the adequacy of infrastructure. I am not against development, but it must be sensible, sustainable and sensitive, and local wishes must hold sway.

As you will appreciate, demographic changes necessitate an increased housing supply. The last Government left us with a disastrous shortfall in housing. Therefore there is a requirement for new homes to be built and the bringing back in to use of empty homes. Affordable homes are also desperately needed but this should not be an excuse for the wrong developments in the wrong area.

It has taken a while to see the benefits of the Coalition Government’s ‘localism

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agenda’ and the actions of Planning Inspectors and the appeal process has made a mockery of it. However, as the regional spatial strategies have finally been revoked and new local plans are taking their place, I am hopeful, and there is evidence, that finally the thoughts and feelings of local communities will be taken into account.

of MPs tasked with looking at policy proposals and coming up with ideas for the next election in 2015. This is an exciting opportunity and I am looking forward to developing some ideas – I’m hoping I might be able to get some of my own into the manifesto for 2015 too!

Away from planning, earlier this year I visited King Richard Court retirement village in Hunsbury with local Councillors André de Savage and Jonathan Nunn. I spent over an hour discussing local issues with residents as well as national issues such as the EU, immigration and banking. The residents gave the Councillors and me a very warm welcome and it was a real pleasure to spend some time with them. It was clear that they take an active and strong interest in their local community and in national politics.

As ever if you think I may be able to help you with an issue and you would like to get in touch with me, do not hesitate to do so. There are many ways you can contact me; • You can email me at andrea.leadsom.mp@parliament.uk; • Write to me at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or; • Come and see me at one of my advice surgeries or ‘drop-in’ surgeries – details can be found on my website at www.andrealeadsom.com or by calling my constituency office on 01604 859721.

I very much enjoy spending time in the constituency and visiting schools, museums and local businesses. It’s great to hear all the good news stories and the excellent work that is going on. As we steam towards 2014, I’m hoping there will be plenty more opportunities including further visits to your area soon.

Do get in touch if I can help or you would like my views on a certain issue. I look forward to hearing from you.

As well as keeping busy in the constituency, I am also working on several projects in Parliament. For two years now I have led the Fresh Start Project which has the support of many MPs, as we look in detail at powers the UK can get back from the European Union. I am also fully behind the Prime Minister’s plans to give the British people a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. It has been too long and the public deserves a say.

Andrea

I am a member of the Treasury Select Committee and we regularly question key people from the Chancellor to the Governor of the Bank of England about monetary policy, fiscal measures and economic progress. Ever since I was elected I have been leading a campaign to promote ‘Full Bank Account Number Portability’ which would mean customers could change their bank account as easily as they change their mobile phone provider taking their bank account number with them. This would increase competition and choice for customers, and I’m glad to say the Government is listening and we are moving in the right direction.

Perhaps my greatest passion is to give all babies the best start in life. Secure early relationships are vitally important for the emotional development of a baby. I have recently launched the 1001 Critical Days Manifesto which is a cross party campaign which presents a vision for the earliest years. I hope that the 1001 Critical Days Manifesto will be the catalyst to bring about much needed change in how we support babies and their families to achieve the best start in life.

With best wishes for a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

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From your East Hunsbury Borough Councillors Phil Larratt & Brandon Eldred

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By now we are sure you’re all aware that the devel oper Bovis has submitted an outline planning application to build 1,000+ houses on land south of Rowtree Road on and around Collingtree Golf Course. They have also submitted a detailed planning application for the first 380 houses off Windingbrook Lane. We continue to work closely with Collingtree and

Wootton & East Hunsbury Parish Council’s as well as Hunsbury & Collingtree Residents Alliance, Andrea Leadsom MP, and individuals in opposing this development proposal.

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Details of the applications, references N/2013/1035 and N/2013/1063, can be found on the Council’s web Site – www.northampton.gov.uk While the land in question has been designated for development within the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy, (Planning Strategy), this strategy has not been approved. It remains the subject of an Enquiry by a Planning Inspector that will resume in Spring 2014. Before adjourning the Enquiry, the Inspector said that it would be “presumptuous” of any Planning Authority, in this case Northampton Borough Council, to determine any Planning Application for sites such as this before his enquiry is complete.

Yet Northampton Borough Council continues to progress the application towards a decision early in 2014.

While Bovis is only looking to develop 1,000 houses, there remains a large area of land to the west of their site that Taylor Wimpey is looking to develop. So in actual fact we’re looking at a development of 1,500 houses, all accessed off Rowtree Road and Windingbrook Lane. Utter madness!

We are extremely concerned that a Planning Application that includes a site that is designated within the still valid Northampton Local Plan, as being a Locally Important Landscape Area, is even being considered for development. This area is afforded the same status as Delapre Park, The Racecourse, Abington Park and Wootton Hall Park. If the site with this designation is developed just how safe are our much valued parks and open spaces from the bulldozer?

The alternative plans for the development that were produced and consulted upon, that would make the development more acceptable, reduce the impact on existing communities and restrict the amount of development to 1,000 houses have been presented to the Enquiry. They are also being considered by the Strategic Planners, and will be con-

57

sidered at a meeting of the West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Committee on 16th December 2013, at 6.00 pm at The Guildhall, Northampton. We would urge as many people as possible to attend this meeting, where you can speak and voice your concerns to the Committee. To register to speak at this meeting, contact Democratic Services at Northampton Borough Council on 0300 330 7000.

When it comes to the consideration of the two applications submitted by Bovis only four people will be able to address the Planning Committee, two opposed to it and two supporting it. We know that many of you object most strongly to this development. We therefore urge you all, individually, to E-mail or write to Northampton Borough Council at The Guildhall, St Giles Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE, planning@northampton. gov.uk voicing your objections to them. While there are many reasons to object to the development and we urge you to express all your individual points of concern regarding the development, but we suggest that the key objection is the additional traffic on Rowtree Road that is already heavily congested at peak times.

In addition to raising your objections through the Council, we also urge you to do so directly with Councillors who are members of the Planning Committee as follows:

a fence around the play equipment in Blacky More Park, a full survey of all the trees throughout the parks and open spaces in East Hunsbury, and footpath improvements - in Grangewood Park the path that leads from Clannell Road to Grangewood - and the path that leads into Penvale Park from Penn Gardens. Timescales for the completion of the works are dependent on budgets and available funding, but we are working hard to secure these. If anyone wishes to become involved with the Friends of Penvale Park, or raise any other issues regarding our parks and open spaces, please get in touch with us.

Councillor Mohammed Azizur Rahman Councillor John Caswell Councillor Iftikhar Choudary Councillor Nazim Choudary Councillor Penny Flavell Councillor Matt Golby Councillor Jamie Lane Councillor Matt Lynch Councillor Lee Mason Councillor Dennis Meredith Councillor Brian Oldham Councillor David Palethorpe

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and all good wishes for successful and healthy 2014.

cllr.maziz@northampton.gov.uk cllr.jcaswell@northampton.gov.uk cllr.ichoudary@northampton.gov.uk cllr.nchoudary@northampton.gov.uk cllr.pflavell@northampton.gov.uk cllr.mgolby@northampton.gov.uk cllr.jlane@northampton.gov.uk cllr.mlynch@northampton.gov.uk cllr.lmason@northampton.gov.uk cllr.dmeredith@northampton.gov.uk cllr.boldham@northampton.gov.uk david.palethorpe@hotmail.com

Tree management remains an issue throughout Hunsbury. We are aware of certain areas where trees require attention, i.e. Sandhurst Close. We continue pursuing this issue within Northampton Borough Council, and are trying hard to get some funding set aside for the work that is required.

Please be assured that we will continue to work for the benefit of the residents of East Hunsbury. It remains our privilege to represent you. Please feel free to contact us at any time with your concerns or if you think we can help you in any way.

Phil Larratt & Brandon Eldred

Absolutely Plastered

It is now known that the Police and Crime Commissioner, Adam Simmonds, will be moving the Police HQ out of Wootton Hall Park. However, it is now intended to convert the buildings to a Secondary School for which they are well suited. We welcome the use of the buildings for this purpose as it will protect the open space from development, something we are totally opposed to. Due to our efforts, the sports pitches, open space and sports club have the protection of being included on the “Community Asset Register”. Also all the great majority of the trees on the site are protected by a Tree Preservation Order. We will continue to keep a watchful eye as to how things at the site move forward, with a view to ensuring the future of the open space.

We have been working hard on issues relating to the parks and open spaces across East Hunsbury. Brandon Eldred has been endeavouring to establish a “Friends of Penvale Park Group”. By the time you read this article we hope that the Group will have been formally set up. The Borough Council has now developed a Forward Plan detailing all the works that are required within our parks and open spaces. This plan includes

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Friends of West Hunsbury Parks Fatal! As soon as we say in a Link article that something may have happened by the time you read this, something causes delays. We were set to go with the new play equipment for the Hill Park when a potential problem arose with the funding, delaying the project by a couple of months.

Happily all is now resolved. We have S106 money and a further £5000 from NBC and a grant of £5000 from the West Hunsbury Parish Council. No promises on timing, but the play equipment is on its way. Many thanks to the Parish Council for its donation.

The work on the hill fort continues slowly. We spent several hours with NBC and English Heritage representatives going through the Management Plan line by line. The Plan is now undergoing revision as a result, but the basic decisions and preparations in readiness for the start of works continue.

We are working with NBC(site owners) to co-ordinate the Lottery bid, and the public signs about the fort are being prepared and, dare we say it, will be up soon.

As mentioned in the last Link, with the help of West Hunsbury WI and TCV volunteers the field behind the Ironstone Railway was cleared of ragwort and mown in preparation for the sowing of a wildflower meadow. Before the farmer could move the bales they were set on fire by vandal(s) causing black smoke to spread over the area. The bales were dealt with by the Fire Brigade and the incident is classed as a criminal act and is in the hands of the police. We are very sorry for the inconvenience to residents caused by this vandalism and for the loss of the hay crop for the farmer. Despite this setback the field has been sown with a wildflower mix and we look forward to the flowers in the spring.

We also have, with help from Cllr Oldham, permission from NBC to make a wildflower bed beside the Shelfleys Park entrance on Ladybridge Drive.

We offered home-made cakes as refreshments and thought that a few residents might turn up. Thank you to the two residents who did – John Smyth, chairman of West Hunsbury Parish Council, and Kathleen. The big drawback of the lack of manpower was that we had to work extra hard to eat the plentiful home-made cakes.

Good job we had lots of exercise!!

Unlike the rest of us, one of Northampton County Council’s contractors has been waiting for rain. His wish has been granted and he has now been able to re-inspect the bridleway through the Hill Park near to the level crossing. The reason for the wait was so that he could assess the ground conditions after rain, and the materials needed to address the problem. He has now done this and work will be done (once more, dare we say) soon.

We have often been asked about the entrance to the Hill Park opposite Hawkridge, which crosses the railway line. This path is not recognised by NBC as a right of way and they have no responsibility for maintenance. The Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust (NIRT) also has no responsibility, but out of the kindness of their hearts its members have agreed to modify the path to make it easier to use. The path will be moved about 50 yards down the track so that the crossing will be level and park access easier. This will be a “permissive crossing”, and will be blocked, as a safety measure, when trains are running. This is likely to be about once a month when this section of track is opened.

Sadly the weather defeated the Picnic in the Park due to be held by St Benedict’s Church and the Friends on Sept 15th. The rain rained and the wind blew – not the best time to barbecue and picnic. Apologies to any brave souls who missed the “cancelled” notice and turned up. Perhaps next year……..!

Our website at www.friendsofwesthunsburyparks.org.uk is looking good and you can use it to find out what we’re doing and how to volunteer to help with park jobs.

As usual we emphasise that we are a volunteer community group with no income and if you would like to make a donation towards our work you can find us on www. localgiving.com/charity/fowhp .

Anne Jones Friends of West Hunsbury Parks.

The Councillor Oldham funded seat beside the car park near the Shelfleys play area has been installed and was put to good use within hours.

Cllr Oldham has also organised the installation of a new, covered, litter bin in the play area. Thank you Cllr Oldham for your continued interest in the Friends activities.

Also in Shelfleys Park, the Friends held a Tidy Your Park day on Sunday 6th October, inviting any West Hunsbury residents to come along and help. We managed to transform the massively overgrown picnic area, bringing it back to a pleasant usable space.

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Directory of Organisations Abbey Centre Baptist Church – contact Administrators on 01604 767568.

Services Sunday 10.45am and 6.00pm.

Devotions most Wednesdays at 7.30pm.

Midweek Meetings as announced.

For church meetings, further details of the church’s life and work; or regarding child blessings, weddings, funerals, counselling, etc, contact Rev Gareth Shepherd 01604 767526/767568.

Abbey Community Theatre: Tuesdays and Fridays 7.30 to 10.00pm. Contact Derek Wilson 01604 761291 Aikido Club (10-16 & adult): Wednesday and Friday 7.00 to 10.00pm. Contact Ian Geddes 01604 634901 Art Class: Mondays 9.30 to noon. Contact Marion Aveling 01604 859109 Baby and Toddlers: Wednesday 9.30 to 11.30am. Contact Leanne Read 07445 839432 Beekeepers: Various days and times. Contact Trevor Minett 01788 890908 Brownies: Monday 6.00 to 7.30pm. Contact Julie Wade 07931 746646 Thursday 6.00 to 7.30pm. Contact Sue Holman 01604 465874 Carpet Bowls: Thursdays 7.00 to 9.00pm.

Contact Madeleine Lambert 01908 571438 Childminders: 2nd Wednesday 9.30 to 11.30am. Contact Janette Beneoechea 01604 705370 Cloud Nine Holidays: Departure Point various times. Country Lion 08003 457575 Esther International Ministries: Last Saturday of month 2.00 to 6.00pm Fun With Music: 10.00 to 10.30am. Contact Lisa Warriner 07540 199414 Gala Concert Group: Rehearsal Thursdays 7.45pm. Contact Steve Baker 01604 877148.

Guides: Monday 7.30 – 9.00pm. Contact Julie Wade 07931 746646 Thursday 7.00 to 9.00pm. Contact Jenna Wood 01604 760620 LEAP: Day opportunities for adults with learning difficulties. Various days. Contact Fiona Mortimer/Gaynor Smith 07703 192931 Little Kickers: Friday 9.30 to 11.30am. Contact

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Antony Newbould 07717 717140 Lunch Club: 60+. Contact 01604 767568 Music and Drama (MAD): 8-11s Wednesday 6.30 to 7.30pm Club and Performances 12-15s Wednesday 7.30 to 8.30pm. Contact Theresa Ellis 01604 701823 Northamptonshire Carers: 2nd Thursday 12.00 to 2.00pm. Contact Jenny Osborne 01933 677837 Parkinsons Disease Society: 1st and 2nd Tuesdays 10.00am to 3.00pm. Contact Val Hamblin 01788 521304 Pre School: Monday to Friday 9.15 to 11.45am and 12.15 to 2.45pm. Contact Sue Philpott 07980 092175 Princes Trust: Contact Wayne Taylor 07766 365211 Rangers: Alternate Thursdays. 7.00 to 9.00pm. Contact Elaine 07915 075640 Scouts: Beavers: 6-8 years. Wednesday 6.00 to 7.15pm Cubs: 8-10 years. Monday 6.30-8.00pm Scouts: 10-15 years. Tuesday 7.30 to 9.30pm.

Scout Chairman Andrew Thomas 01604 517364.

Slimming World: Monday 4.00 to 9.00pm and Wednesday 9.00 to 11.00am. Contact Sylvia Paget 07525 469283 Theological Society: bi-monthly 3rd Tuesday 7.30pm. Contact Alan Riley 01604 716901 Townswomen’s Guild: 3rd Thursday. 1.45 to 3.45pm. Contact Sue Moore 01604 760743 Veterinary Service: Monday to Friday 9.00 to 10.30am and Monday/Wednesday/ Friday 4.30 to 6.30pm. Contact 01604 760970/648221 Youth Inspired: Youth Club 11-19 years. Friday 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Contact Jenny Evans 01604 705055 Abington Museum - 631454. Open Tues-Sun 1 - 5 pm Alopecia Sufferers Sat Coffee Mornings. Want to chat with other sufferers, contact Karen on 07843838324 Art Class Milton Malsor village hall Wednes-

days in term time 1.30-3.30pm contact Marion Aveling 01604 859109 Blacky More Community Centre Contact Wootton Parish Council 01604 705055 Boys’ Brigade meets on Monday evenings during term time at Wootton Trinity Church.

Anchors Boys age 5-8 from 6-7pm. Junior Section age 8 and above from 7-8pm Contact Captain, Marijke Smith on 01604 465531 to join Central Museum & Art Gallery - 238458.

Open Mon - Sat 10 am - 5 pm. Sun 2 - 5 pm Childminders’ Group contact Annie Walker 765979 meets Butts Road Community Centre 1st and 3rd Mondays Christian Celebration 01604 702178 e-mail: admin@christiancelebration.org Services at Wootton Trinity, High St, at 10:00am & 6pm.

Collingtree CEVA Primary School - 01604 761469 Headteacher: Mrs Sonia Clews Lawns Lodge Lane Collingtree Northampton NN4 0NQ Group 8 Theatre Company Thursday 7.30 - 10.00 pm contact John Ellerby 870513.

Hunsbury Guides, Brownies and Rainbows - contact Karen McFarlane District Commissioner 705965 Hunsbury A Townswomen’s Guild - contact Jill Whitehead 01604 700727. Meets 3rd Thursday of the month 1.45 pm at the Abbey Centre, Overslade Road Hunsbury Hill Womens Institute - contact Rosie Duddy, 01604 767670. Meets 3rd Tuesday of the month 7.45pm at Camp Hill Community Centre, Dayrell Road.

Hunsbury Residents’ Association - contact André Gonzalez Tel 702288 Linedance Club - Crystal Cats Linedance Club - Caroline Chisholm School.

7 - 8pm Absolute Beginners 7- 8pm Beginners/Improvers 8-10pm Improvers/Intermediates every Monday in the Main Hall Contact Gill Bradley 07733 091865 Music Bugs (6m - 5 years with parent or

carer) Thursdays in Hardingstone Village Hall, 9.30 18m +, 10.30 6m - 2 yrs, contact Fiona on 0844 578 1017 or email fiona@musicbugs. co.uk Northamptonshire Association for Local History (NALH), an umbrella group for Local History societies and open to membership by individuals. Contact Secretary Jane Waterfield js-sec@tandjassociates.co.uk Two annual meetings are held. March in Northants Record Office, Wootton Hall and in October a history day hosted by a local history society (2004 Brigstock). A publication (Hindsight) is produced for members. Contact editor on l.cowburn@britishlibrary.net NCC Sports & Social Club Wootton Hall park, Mereway Tel No 01604 767766 whpsocialclub@fsmail.net whpsocialclub.webs.com Northampton Camera Club - Meets on Mondays 7.45 pm at Hardingstone Village Hall contact Dave Humphreys01604 674193 http://www.northamptoncameraclub.org.uk/ frames.html for full details Northampton Cyclists’ Touring Club - Regular Saturday and Sunday cycle rides and Wednesday meetings. www.ctc-northampton.org.uk e-mail: secretary@ctc-northampton.org.uk Northampton Junior Chess Club Contact Ian Marsh info@northamptonjuniorchessclub.org.uk or via the website: http://www.northamptonjuniorchessclub. org.uk/ Northampton Lions Club Contact David Williams 07900041794 david22.williams@gmail.com Northampton Nene Ladies Circle 879 (For Ladies between 18 to 45) Meet every other Wednesday 7.30pm. Contact Marion Walton 510586. New members always welcome.

Northampton Nene Round Table 985 (For Men between 18 to 45) Meet every other Tuesday 7.30pm. Contact Nick Dean 510586 New members always welcome.

Northants 20s and 30s Ramblers - walks most weekends. Contact http://www.lgrtr.

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org.uk or email us on info@letsgetreadytoramble.org.uk Northants Intervarsity Club - contact Neil Pritchard 765412 www.ivc.org.uk/northants Clubnight Mondays, 9:00 onwards in the White Hart in Great Houghton Parkinson’s Disease Society meets Abbey Centre 2nd Tuesday 9 am - 3pm contact Val Hamblin 01327 702253. 24 hour help line 0844 225 3628 / 01788 521304 Slimming World - Tuesdays at 7.00 pm Simon De Senlis School. Contact Sandie 858294 St Benedict’s Church (C of E) - contact Revd Jonathan Kimber 768624 Services: Sundays 10 am Parish Comunion Service. 2nd Sun of month 11.30 am 30 Minute Church. Sunday Evening Service 4pm on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month Wednesday 10 am Holy Communion followed by Coffee Children’s Groups Parents & Tots Mon 1 pm to 2.30pm at The Portakabin Simon de Senlis School - contact Julie Robinson 769321 Tues and Thurs 9.15-11.15 at The Portakabin Simon de Senlis School Thur 1.30pm to 3 pm PreSchool Mon - Fri 9.00am to 11.30am and 12.15pm to 2.45 pm in the Church Hall contact 708469 Mothers’ Union - Meets twice a month contact Nessie Mills 767395.

Bellringers - Practice Monday evenings. New recruits always welcome! contact Geoffrey Brown 769472 Anne England 766303 St George the Martyr Church (C of E) Wootton - contact the Rona Orne on 01604 887045 Services Every week at 11am 1st Sunday of the month – Family Service Other weeks – Holy Communion All are welcome Baptism enquiries761 313 (Dawn Stokes) Wedding enquiries 761891 Bellringers - contact John Page 766162, Pauline Mackenzie 07790982692 or Elaine 763918.

Practice every Tuesday evening, 7.30 - 9.00 Everyone welcome, including beginners.

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‘Little Stars’ - Toddler Praise: Tuesdays in Term-time 2-3pm Enquiries Dawn Stokes 761313 Stroller’s Walking Club for Ladies Walks take place on Tuesday morning; and the first Sunday of each month, in the afternoon.

Contact Rosalind on 01604 700017 or Linda on 07968 556846 for more information Tai Chi Tuesdays 7-8.30 pm Wootton Memorial Hall contact Lindsey Cox 07738 532394 Weightwatchers - Meets Thursdays at 7.00 pm St Benedict’s Church Hall Contact Mandi Mansfield 07955 380030 Wootton Heritage Organisation contact Derrick Baxter 763289 Meets on the third Thursday of the month in the Memorial Hall at 7.30pm. £2.00 entrance fee to help pay for the hire of the hall. All are welcome to attend.

Wootton Parish Council - contact Parish Office 705055.

Wootton Community & Sports Centre Contact Wootton Parish Council 01604 705055 Wootton Memorial Hall contact David Blackbourn 767 438 At present there is no fixed programme so keep an eye on the notice board by the main gate of the Hall Wootton Trinity Centre, High Street Wootton the home base of ‘Christian Celebration’ Contact www.christiancelebration.co.uk Little Acorns Toddler group (Wootton) Tuesdays (term time only) 9.30am-11.30am contact Mandy 01604 764605 Wootton Trinity Toddler Group Fridays (term time only) 9.30am-11.30am contact Mandy 01604 764605 The Friday Sweethearts(Girls Group) age 5 -11, Fridays at 5.30pm - 6.45pm at Towcester Road Methodist Church, Southampton Road,Contact Abbey Gisanrin 07908526691

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Please support our advertisers; your local businesses, and mention The Link Magazine when contacting them. Contact the editor for all advertising queries.

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Everything you need for your garden project!

Some Important Telephone Numbers

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634700 NGH, Outpatients 631399 Princess Marina Hospital 752323 St Andrews Hospital 616000 Three Shires Hospital 620311 Upton House Day Hospital 632958 Leisure Blacky More Community Centre bookings

705055 Danes Camp Leisure Centre 837200 Derngate 624811 Royal Theatre 632533 The Cobblers 757773 The Saints 751543 County Cricket Club link thumbs_AW.pdf 632917 2435 Hevey Tourist Information 622677

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Wootton Library 0300 126 1000

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Northampton County Council 236236 Job Centre 443200 Benefits & Contributions 446100 Careers Advice 234762 Citizens Advice Bureau 0844 8552122 Fly tipping 0800 807060 CLARENCE (Road defects etc) 0800 232323 TESCO TROLLEYS (abandoned)

0800 505555 Member Of Parliament Andrea Leadsom 01604 859 721 Parish Council Office 705055 Police Non-emergency 101 Emergency 999 Schools Abbey Primary 660100 Abbeyfield School 763616 Ashton CE Primary School 863189 Briar Hill Primary 768392 Caroline Chisholm 669200 29/01/2013 15:29 School Collingtree CEVA Primary School

761469 East Hunsbury Primary 677970 Hardingstone Primary School 761250 Hunsbury Park Primary 761566 Northampton High School 765765 Northampton School for Boys

230240 Northampton School for Girls

499311 Preston Hedges Primary 665860 Queen Eleanor Primary 761200 Elizabeth Woodville School 862125 Simon de Senlis Primary 661011 Wootton Primary 761679 Churches St Benedict’s (CE) Revd Jonathan Kimber 768624 St George the Martyr, Wootton Abbey Centre (Baptist) 767568 St Francis & St Therese (RC) 768483 Christian Celebration (at Wootton Trinity Centre) 702178 admin@christiancelebration.org www.christiancelebration.co.uk

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