Abtalk 1 May 2008

Jill Tolsontel: 857320; jill.tolson@abthorpe.netKeith Fenwicktel: 857083; keith.fenwick@abthorpe.net

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held this year on Monday19 May. Do come along to the Old School at 7.45 to hearwhat the Parish Council has been doing on your behalfover the past year. Other local organisations will be givingtheir annual reports.

NEWS FROM THE NEW INN

Jane and Robbie have planned an exciting charityfundraising bank holiday weekend on 24, 25 and 26 Mayin support of Shelter, NSPCC and the Breast CancerResearch Foundation. The full programme is:

Saturday 24th

2pm games challenge: pool, Aunt Sally, cribbage

8pm charity karaoke: karaoke with a difference - bethere to find out more

Sunday 25th

2pm onwards BBQ, open the box, play your cards right

7pm charity auction: items for auction include 2 x 3-daypasses for Silverstone Classics weekend; Xbox 360

News from Abthorpe May 2008

May 2008 2 Abtalk

arcade + 5 games; 2 tickets forNorthampton Saints; 6 VIPpasses to TENPINNorthampton

8.30pm onwards : music by Jenny Joy& the Jenny Joy Duo

Monday 26th 2pm onwards : Kiddies’mini-treasure hunt; family quiz withquestions for all the family; bouncycastle; raffle & name the Bearcompetition, and much more.

Further information from Jane orRob on 857306.

Come and support theseworthwhile causes by having funover the weekend.

TOWCESTER’S SCHOOLS

The debate is starting about futureschool provision in Towcester to copewith the planned expansion of thetown. Since 1971 Towcester hasgrown from a population of less than4,500 to its present 9,500. By 2021it is likely to increase to 14,000.

Thoughts are turning to theeffect on primary and secondaryeducation of the influx of childrenfrom such a growth. With StLawrence Junior amalgamating withthe infants a new site would ideallybe needed. If Sponne were to takein the secondary pupils they couldsee student numbers of over 2,000.Although some large secondaries dooperate successfully, a recent studyby Teach First, an organisation whichplaces top graduates in tough inner-city schools, argues that such mega-

schools risk having a number ofchildren falling ‘under the radar’ withall the consequences that can bring.Schools with smaller numbers aregenerally more successful. So ifanother secondary school is to bebuilt to complement Sponne, whattype should it be? The Board ofEducation of the Anglican Diocese ofPeterborough has aspirations tobuild a Church of England secondaryin Towcester, or should it be anAcademy?

Join the debate with John Riches:john.riches@abthorpe.net.

VILLAGE FUND NEWS

The committee has arranged anouting for all the older people in thevillage to the National Herb Centreat Warmington near Banbury onTuesday 10th June with and havelunch in its bistro. Over 500 varietiesof herb plants are available to delightcooks, intrigue gardeners andfascinate anyone with an interest inalternative medicines.

Planning is going ahead for theannual Fun Day to be held onSaturday 6th September.

VILLAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION –BECOME A JUDGE

Calor Northamptonshire Village of theYear is looking for volunteer judgeswho have some time to spare andwould be willing to visit the county’svil lages. Sounds l ike a greatopportunity to get to know the area.

Abtalk 3 May 2008

Anne Millare at Northants ACRE cangive you more information on what itentails on 01604 825885;anne.millare@northantsacre.org.uk.

ECO TEAMS

If a group of households (usually 6to 8) feels moved to take practicalaction in their everyday lives toreduce their environmental impact,forming an Eco Team seems a usefulstarting point. These are based ona few simple principles: nobody cando everything, but we can all dosomething; sharing experiences andideas gives support andencouragement; small adjustmentsbuild into good habits. Past savingsby teams have shown reductions of43% in waste, 9% in electricity and21% in water usage.

Eco Teams commit to monitoringtheir waste: electricity, gas (well –not here!), water, shopping andtransport. By measuring improve-

ments the group will be able tochange its behaviour and play a smallpart towards a cleaner, moresustainable future.

So chat with your friends andneighbours, and talk to Global ActionPlan on 0207 405 5633, or emailecoteams@globalactionplan.org.uk. Ifyou take up the challenge, do let usknow how you get on.

TOWCESTER BYPASS

The current proposal, associated withthe expansion of Towcester, is that anew A5 single carriageway bypasswill be constructed round the southside of Towcester. This will link withthe A43 dual-carriageway betweenthe Abthorpe roundabout andSilverstone village. From that link tothe Tove roundabout close to the BellPlantation Garden Centre, the A5and A43 will share the same dualcarriageway.

The junction of the new bypasswith the A43 will include a flyover andvery short slip roads. Part of this isoutside the West NorthantsDevelopment Corporation area, so aseparate planning application hasbeen made to South NorthantsCouncil for this element.

The rest of the existing A43 willnot be modified. Earlier proposals for‘hamburger’ junctions to replace theAbthorpe and A5 roundabouts havebeen abandoned as, apparently, thehamburger principle is useless. (Don’tsay anything about what children canI’m the king of the castle

May 2008 4 Abtalk

tel l you!) It appears that theHighways Agency is aware of thisproblem, but it is not clear what canbe done about it, or even whetherthere is the will to do anything. Thecontact at the Highways Agency isSerena Carmichael, PlanningManager, Highways Agency, C3–5Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham.B15 1BL, Direct line telephone – 0121678 8446, and the reference is P645465 A43(T) Towcester ValeApplication A. Others involved areMatthew Berry, WNDC, Franklin’sGardens, Weedon Road,Northampton NN5 5GB and JeanMorgan at SNC.

KNITTING WOOL NEEDED

Please search your cupboards for anyknitting wool lurking there fromprevious projects. Charity Crafts isa South NorthantsVolunteer Bureau projectwhich urgently needsmore materials. Pleasecall SNVB on 358264 ifyou can help.

SPEEDWATCH

For many years the ParishCouncil has campaignedto get various trafficcalming measures intothe village. The Councilhas managed to get 30mph painted on the roadsand the 30-mph signs inreflective yellow.

Although these do little to reduce thespeed of the cars whizzing through,the Council is restricted in themeasures it can put in place. Ourroad is a relief road for the A43 andthere are very few incidents on theroad, making it a low priority for anytraffic calming measures. The parishhas a number of elderly and youngresidents and we are concerned withthem crossing the road safely.

Several years ago ‘Speedwatch’was trialled in Whittlebury. TheCouncil reviewed the results andagreed this was a programmeAbthorpe should be part of. Residentsin the village were asked to supportthis and several were trained andhave used the handheld speedcamera equipment. As the Co-Ordinator of the programme I haveexperienced its success, I see cars

visibly slow down whenthey see the brightyellow jackets and thesigns are up for theperiod. However,drivers soon revert totheir previous behav-iour. The speed detectoron the road in fromWappenham is also partof this program. It willbe left there for aperiod, then movedelsewhere.

Speedwatch isreturning to the villagein August and we need

Abtalk 5 May 2008

PEOPLE

It was a lovely daywhen DarrenAndrews, Sheila andSteve Andrews’ son,and Nic Peters weremarried at St John theBaptist on Saturday3 rd May. The villagecongratulates Nic andDarren and wishesthem every happinessin the future.

And welcome totwo couples new tothe village: Claire Lowery and John Underwood have worked hard toupdate their new home, 32 Wappenham Road. John’s skills came intotheir own during their building work and he has now set up a businessof general building, painting and decorating. Claire will be familiar tosome children in the village as she teaches at Nicholas Nawksmoor school.She is a keen (mainly veg) gardener and runs an allotment club at schoolfor which she would be very grateful for any donations of child-friendlyplants (vegetables, sunflowers, etc). She also enjoys horse-riding andin quieter moments creates rag rugs. John’s relaxation, if it can be calledthat, is downhill mountain biking at which he competes at national level.

Andrea and Graham Lambert have arrived at Forge Cottage on theGreen with their two cats, George and Bodie. They have moved from StAlbans via Leckhamstead, but come originally from a country background.Both Andrea and Graham work from home with spells of travelling, andare looking forward to making new friends and joining in village life. AsAndrea enjoys cooking her skills are likely to be much in demand. She isalso another gardener so will share an interest with many in the village.

Our thoughts are with Edmund (Shen) Kendall and Dorothy Swan,both of whom are in hospital.

May 2008 6 Abtalk

a few more volunteers. To be avolunteer you need to be able to giveup an hour of your time, once or twicea week, for a period of 6 weeks attimes to suit you, e.g. before/afterwork, but you will need to be able towork in 2s or 3s, one to use thecamera and one to write theinformation down, with the 3 rd

supporting. Full training will be givento use the equipment (this alsocovers insurance) on Saturday 2nd

August.If you are interested in

Speedwatch please contact GailCoombs, 857901, 21 Brackley Laneby 22nd June. Thank you for yoursupport.

LATEST TOTE WINNERS

The tote is run by the church for theupkeep of the fabric of the building.The winners for March were Dan andBryony Clarkson who scooped £245.In April Mr E Kendall (Shen) won £245.

EXCITEMENT ON

THE TOVE

For the secondtime this winterthe Tove hasf l o o d e d .Following theflash flood inOctober, itagain roserapidly on 16March as seenin this picture

at the Oxbridge where the Toveoverran the Abthorpe to Blakesleyroad to a width of about 100m.

BEFRIEND A CARER

Would you like to join a new band ofvolunteers who will be trained tobefriend carers of Alzheimer’ssufferers? It will be either by regulartelephone contact or meeting themface to face to offer support, help andcompanionship. What a worthwhileuse of some of your time. If you areinterested, find out more fromElizabeth Churchill on 01280 823769or 07908 458042.

STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND MIDLAND

JUNCTION RAILWAY

From the splendid network offootpaths leading from the villagewe’re all familiar with the disusedrailway line which runs in the Tovevalley. The fascinating history of thisline can be found at http://

Abtalk 7 May 2008

www.andythompson.net/history.htm.To quote from J. M. Dunn, TheStratford-Upon-Avon & MidlandJunction Railway, The Oakwood Press1952: ‘Its history, in places aselusive as the line itself, is a curiousexample of the survival of the unfit.’And at http://www.smjr.info there’sa link through to a recent videosuperimposing Towcester station asit was on the site’s current use – theTesco supermarket.

ABTHORPE STATISTICS

Some interesting numbers have comeout of the 2006 housing needssurvey. At that time – and it ’sdoubtful things will have changedmuch since then – there were justover 290 inhabitants living in 132homes. The range of propertiesspreads fairly evenly through theCouncil Tax bands: A – 2; B – 25; C –18; D – 26; E – 22; F – 14; G – 22; H– 3. Interestingly Wappenham isslightly smaller than Abthorpe, with125 homes and 269 inhabitants;Bradden’s population is about 184 in60 homes; and Slapton has 36 homesoccupied by about 90 residents. Atthe time of the survey, statisticsgleaned from those who responded,which was 63 of the 132questionnaires distributed, 56% ofAbthorpe residents had lived in thevillage for more than 10 years; 22%between 5 and 10 years; 17%between 1 and 5 years; and 5% lessthan a year.

PHONE BOX ON THE GREEN

British Telecom has informed theParish Council that they areconsidering removing the phone box

from Abthorpe as part of a generalreview of phone boxes. It appearsthat little, if any, use has been madeof the phone box for a long time; inany case it no longer takes moneyand requires a card to operate it. TheCouncil’s view is that there is noreason to retain the facility. However,BT is being asked if the phone boxitself can left in situ and maintainedby the Council as a feature of the

May 2008 8 Abtalk

village green. What are your views?Come to the Annual Meeting nextMonday or talk to any Councillor.

NORTHANTS TOURING ARTS

Northants Touring Arts is acollaboration between NewPerspectives Theatre Company, theArts Council, NCC, and local councilsand cultural community partnershipsin East Northants. They take theatre,for adults and children, music anddance to rural communities across thecounty. On Saturday 7 June, 7.30Wappenham Village Hall (860073) orSaturday 31 May at PaulerspuryVillage Hall (811304), ‘The Farm’ byRichard Benson, will be performed. Itis the story of one family and theEnglish country side

There is a broad programmeextending to other village venues; forthe full programme go towww.northantstouringarts.co.ukwhere you can also join the mailinglist.

WINTER GRITTING

Following the acceptance of the NCCbudget, winter gritting will beimproved from next year. Every villagewill have at least one gritted route inand out of the village.

Let’s hope for a mild winter tosave on the budget.

SOUTH NORTHANTS COUNCIL TAX

On challenging SNC about the ratherlarge sum of £350,000 ‘to implement

a new organisation design’ I receivedthis helpful response:

“The item that you refer to relatesto an earmarked budget set aside totake a detailed look at SouthNorthamptonshire Council’s structureand make sure it is ‘fit for purpose’to meet several new challenges.

“The new organisation designalso reflects the concerns ofcouncillors and senior managers thatthe Council has become too lean torespond to all the current pressureson it.

“The proposed new structure willgive more capacity at senior level andco-ordinate and strengthen policywork across the council. This isparticularly important as we are inthe country’s fastest growing growtharea.

“More specifically, it was deemednecessary to restructure theorganisation of the Council forseveral reasons. These included:

· The transfer of our council homesto a housing association which tookplace in March 2008

· The changing agenda put on localgovernment from centralgovernment

· The fact we are in a growth area

· The need for more officers to dealwith partnerships and working inthe community

· The ongoing development of ourCustomer Contact Centreprogramme

Abtalk 9 May 2008

“I trust this clarifies the positionfor you, but if I can be of any furtherassistance to you regarding this orany other matter please do nothesitate to contact me.”

I can’t really say I’m any the wiser.Jill Tolson

RUN FOR THE CHILDREN

This is a fun fitness initiative forchildren, parents, friends and familiesfeaturing a series of 3km fun runswith no age limit. The Towcester runis being held at the racecourse onSunday 22 June, starting at 11am forthe fun run (or skip, or hop) and youcan also cycle, starting at 12 noon –or if you still have energy jump on abike after you’ve done a lap on yourfeet. Pit yourself against Swifty theHare and see who comes off best.

http://www.runforthechildren.co.uk/for all the details.

BUCKNELL WOOD CAR PARK

Ian Morgan, the AssistantScout Leader at GreensNorton, regularly takesscouts to Bucknells Wood,a Forestry Commissionproperty, for field craft andadventure exercises. It isalso well-used by walkersand riders from the village.

Without anyconsultation, theForrestry Commission hasclosed the car park off theSilverstone Road as it is

unable to afford the cost of repairs.This is despite making a largeinvestment in facilities at HazelburghWood. Both Silverstone and AbthorpeParish Councils are objecting to theloss of this facility, pointing out thatit goes against all the attempts toopen up the countryside.

Kevin Stannard the Commission’sForest Management Director for theNorthamptonshire Area can becontacted on 01780 444920 if youfeel strongly about the loss of thisamenity.

And, although unfortunately wecan’t print in colour, the bluebellswere absolutely splendid this year.

LATEST CRIME REPORT FROM

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE POLICE

In the past year (to 31 March 2008)Northamptonshire Police has seentotal crime drop by 3.5%, or 2,318fewer recorded crimes, on the backof a 3.1% decrease in crime the

May 2008 10 Abtalk

previous year (06-07). All crime has now reduced for 4 consecutive years.2007-08 totals are 19% lower than in 2003/4, with our area, Northampton-shire West (covering Northampton, Daventry and South Northants) recording1,244 fewer crimes (a 3.4% drop).

Most categories of crime countywide have fallen too, including houseburglary (down 5.8%, or 228 less offences), robbery (down 15.5%, or 161fewer offences), vehicle crime (down 11.4% or 1,036 fewer) and criminaldamage (down 7.3% or 11,167). The only slight increases were in violentcrime (4 per cent or 471 more offences).

However, burglary remains a challenge with 1 in 4 of all house burglariesdown to insecurities, so locking up at all times is important. Some peopleare still leaving valuables, such as sat nav systems, in vehicles which providerich pickings for offenders, so the message is remove it, don’t lose it.

To view crime statistics in detail visit www.northants.police/beatstats.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE DECODED

Atkins has helpfully passed on advice from the Local Government Associationpublished in New Civil Engineer magazine that engineers should stop talkingabout ‘frameworks’, ‘step change’, ‘good practice’, ‘fast tracking’, ‘initiatives’,‘transparency’, ‘menu of options’, ‘income streams’, ‘communicating coremessages’, ‘multi-disciplinary’, ‘stakeholders’ and ‘creating sustainablecommunities’. Instead, helpful alternatives have been suggested such as‘result’ for ‘outcome’, ‘plan’ instead of ‘initiative’, ‘choices’ for ‘menu of options’,‘cash’ for ‘income stream’, ‘people’ for ‘stakeholders’, ‘delay’ instead of‘slippage’. Finally, according to Atkins, to minimise the public’s bewilderment,don’t go anywhere near ‘level playing fields’ and ‘community engagement’.

No comment.

VILLAGERS AT WORK -AN OCCASIONAL LOOK AT WHAT OUR NEIGHBOURS DO FOR A LIVING

Rob Capurro sells bridges in Iberia and South America - well, he’s really Directorof Sales: Spain, Portugal, Latin America & Caribbean, for Mabey & Johnson. Here’shis account of one success.

Caroni River Bridge - from UK to Trinidad - again!Just over a year ago, in January 2007, I was suitably kitted out in ‘black tie’and on my way to a gala dinner in London when I received a call from ourman in Trinidad to inform me that an old British steel bridge, built across theCaroni River south of Port of Spain in the 1860s, was sliding slowly into the

Abtalk 11 May 2008

river as the southernabutment gave way.

Naturally, asemergency bridgespecialists weresponded swiftlywith terms for thesupply of a MabeyCompact 200 bailey-type bridge forimmediate delivery.In the followingweeks it transpiredthat the collapse of

the southern abutment had been temporarily arrested allowing time for amore permanent solution to be considered. The definitive requirement wasfinally agreed during March and the opportunity was to be seized, as part ofthe government’s Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency, to replace theancient existing single lane bridge and the adjoining single lane MabeyCompact 200 bridge with a modern two lane solution. Thus was conceivedthe requirement for the first Mabey Delta Bridge in the Caribbean. Betterstill, the 81m two lane clear-span would show off the technology of this pre-engineered permanent highway bridge at its maximum single span capacitythus providing a showcase for the whole region.

The detailed negotiation resulted in agreement in May. By 26th June theentire bridgehad beenmanufacturedin the Mabey& Johnsonfactory inL y d n e y ,Gloucestershireand wasready forshipping on16th July ineighteen 40ftconta iners ,

May 2008 12 Abtalk

EVENTS

Saturday 17 MayPlant sale, 9.30 - 12.30, Clarissa House, High Street, Wappenham

Monday 19 MayAnnual Parish Meeting, 7.45, the Old School

Sunday 8 JuneAnnual cricket match against Blakesley at Blakesley

Tuesday 10th JuneOuting to the National Herb Centre at Warmington near Banbury. Jan Miles857427

Saturday 2 AugustSpeedwatch training. Gale Coombs 857901

Saturday 6 SeptemberFun Day on the village green

but shipment was delayed untilSeptember to fit in with localarrangements for the construction ofapproach roads and abutments, etc.

The containers arrived at Port ofSpain on 9th October with assemblycompleted by the 15th. Launchingacross the river began on 17 th

October with the Minister himselfdriving the Caterpillar. Positioningwas complete by the 28th and finalcompletion took place on 3 rd

November.In short, a team of only 22 people

built, launched and completed thebridge in the space of 21 days or 150hours of work, including 7 days’ delayfor torrential rain. Very impressiveconsidering the predicted build periodwas 8 weeks, and even moreimpressive when you consider that a

similar structure in concrete wouldtake an absolute minimum of 6months and probably much longer toconstruct.

It is very satisfying to be able toreport a British engineering andmanufacturing export success storyin the early 21st century, emulatingthe achievements of our Victorianpredecessors and keeping alive ourtraditional infrastructure-based linkswith the Caribbean. The governmentof Trinidad is so pleased with theDelta that further purchases arelikely. Meanwhile, and as a furthertestament to British engineeringquality, the old Victorian bridge is stillin such good condition that it will berelocated elsewhere in the island andcontinue to provide a secure rivercrossing for years to come.