Northumberland's Top Village (2006) Revealed
“Rural communities are an essential part of the fabric of our country – they are the backbone of British life. It is for this reason that the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, which aims to support and promote village life, is such a positive event and something which I am happy to support. The competition highlights the very best of village life, encouraging villagers to work together to the benefit of all residents. More importantly, it provides a forum for communities to share best practice and encourages them to address any problems or opportunities that become apparent following their involvement in the competition.”
Alan Titchmarsh
Entry to the competition is through a network of county competitions, where entrant villages must have a population of less than 5000. County competition organisers then nominate a village, usually the winner of the county competition, to go forward to the national competition, where judges look for “well balanced, pro-active, caring village communities which, irrespective of size, have made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all inhabitants”.
Although very worthwhile, entry is not something to be undertaken lightly. Five of the six categories, namely Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People and Environment must be entered with category six (Information Communication Technology) being optional. Help and guidance is available from the Calor website www.villageoftheyear.org
In 2005 Wingates was successful in being awarded first prize in the national competition's Business Section, which looks at how businesses support community life, and how people in the community support their local businesses. On 22 August 2006, the village of Allendale was revealed as Northumberland's top village on the Village of the Year website, where it was announced as the winner of the 2006 Calor Northumberland Building Community Life competition.
Larry Winger, co-ordinator for Allendale’s bid, expressed delight at news of the award. “People we talk to all over the district of Tynedale always smile when we mention Allendale, and comment on how much is going on in the village. We thought that this competition was a good way to recognise the community activity, and we express our appreciation to everyone in the patch for making this village such a great place to live.”
A total of five villages were in line for prizes in the competition, which is being run in every county in England as part of the Calor Village of the Year® competition or as a stand alone competition thanks to support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The villages of Allendale, Bamburgh, Falstone, Felton and Norham were shortlisted from an original tally of 15 entrants and judges had a very difficult task selecting just one winner.
Michelle O’Keefe, who organised the competition on behalf of Northumberland Rural Community Council, commented: “We were very impressed by both the number and standard of entries received this year in Northumberland and our judges found it particularly difficult to narrow the 15 entries down to a shortlist of five, let alone selecting one winner. However, Allendale is such a vibrant and thriving village with such an inclusive community that it just edged its way through to win the competition, gaining an impressive £500 prize money thanks to Defra’s support.”
Allendale’s description, as submitted to the adjudicators, may look familiar to its residents:
Allendale is a very special place.
Recognised all over the district of Tynedale as a vibrant, friendly, cohesive community filled with music, art, drama and social events, this working village loves to live. The community website (www.allenvalleys.co.uk) provides a flavour of what it’s like to live here, along with some 1000 households in the parish, but the village has to be experienced at first-hand to really understand it.
With four teeming pubs, an extraordinarily active and engaged village hall, two churches, a newsagent, two general shops (Co-op and convenience store), lovely Tea Rooms and a regionally-renowned Gift Shop, a health centre and separate chemist, a new brewery developing within an incipient new heritage centre, two schools (primary and middle), a thriving coach and taxi business, three auto mechanics, builders and handypersons galore, a new childcare social enterprise, a residential conference centre, sports pitches, recreation ground, bowling green, cricket ground and clubhouse, golf course and clubhouse, and new Sports Hall, as well as idyllic walks and recreational pursuits, and well served by local holiday cottages, B&Bs, caravan sites and youth hostel, this busy village in the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is not without its challenges as well.
There are concerns about a boarded up hotel awaiting a buyer in the heart of the market square. The recreation ground has been a source of community worry for the past decade -- though a pro-active working group has eliminated dereliction and is trying to develop the two acre site inclusively for all age groups and abilities, there is only one children’s playground on the council estate. The young people in this deeply rural parish need more local activities and jobs. The congregations at both parish church and Methodist chapel are dwindling, and the population is increasingly aging. Several years ago at the peak of the Foot & Mouth crisis, the village lost its petrol station. And can sustainable tourism bring friendly visitors and their financial investment without overwhelming village life?
But, perhaps typified by the camaraderie shared during the annual Tar Bar’l parade and bonfire, which always achieve national renown, the Allendale spirit seems to be to work together for the good of the whole community, and to get things accomplished in a friendly way while enjoying ourselves.
So jobs in the growing tourism industry sector are regularly turning up and being filled. The youth project within the village hall has helped to fill an activity gap as well. The two schools seem to provide ample evidence of hope for the future life of this intensely rural community a dozen miles from its market town. Regular music events and parties keep the community together, while fairs and festivals offer ample opportunity to work on date-limited projects that provide a real communal sense of achievement and satisfaction upon completion. The community as a whole is very receptive to new ideas and concepts from young people and incomers alike, while treasuring the traditions and strengths of the past.
At the heart of community involvement are three important organisations, which often overlap in terms of participative membership: (i) the community charity, The Fawside, which has taken on the renovation and maintenance of a residential centre, Deneholme. This charity has brought many hundreds of thousands of pounds of inward investment into the village, and continues to work with everyone in the area of benefit for the greater good of the community; (ii) the Allendale Lions Club, which reflects the community-focused passions of its members in the variety of local service activities it supports; (iii) the community facility charity the Allendale Village Hall & Recreation Ground, which provides inclusive space for a great variety of social activities. These three organisations do seem to underpin and nurture much of what actually goes on in the village, which obviously encompasses political, business, educational, medical and eclectic spiritual groupings as well.
The organisers of the Allendale bid will be busy, over the next few months, accumulating evidence and support for the regional and national Village of the Year heats, with special reference to the other categories in the competition: Business; Young Persons; Older Persons; Environment; ICT. One thing the village can be sure of, however, is that people will be eager to help demonstrate just how special Allendale really is.
As this year’s county winner, the village of Allendale has the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year® for England competition. Over 40 villages representing counties through England will be taking part in the competition which has a total prize fund of over £39,000 and a top prize of £7,000. Allendale will initially be competing in the North England region of the competition against villages from Cheshire, Cumbria, Durham, Humber & Wolds, Lancashire, Tees Valley and Yorkshire.
Representatives of Allendale will be presented with their prize money and a framed commemorative certificate at a presentation event on Thursday 12th October.
