Headley Judged Outstanding Village

Headley was declared the winner of the prestigious CALOR Hampshire Village of the Year Competition in July. Calor is the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas and has sponsored the scheme for 10 years; there were 39 county village competitions across England in 2009. The Hampshire Association of Local Councils organizes the judging for our county. The aim of the competition is to find the most vibrant, enterprising and sustainable communities. Villages are judged across four categories: Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, and Communications – being in contact.

An entry form was submitted in April, by Prof. Michael Withers, Vice Chairman of Headley Society, on behalf of the Parish Council with each of the categories being addressed by contributions from local residents. The Parish was short-listed and the Competition Judges visited Headley on 20th July for a presentation and exhibition in the Village Hall. It commenced with a digital audio-visual virtual tour of the Parish, produced by Kathleen Bird and narrated by David Bird, showing aspects of the amenities, shops, business activities, schools, churches, halls, and some of the gardens on display during the recent Open Gardens event. This was followed by presentations by Alison Smith – the Head Teacher of Holme School (education and opportunities); Robin Hall – Parish Councillor (business, roads, planning, etc); Jim Grevatt – Chairman, Headley Sports Association (sports activities and achievements); and John Owen Smith – Chairman, Headley Society (organisations, clubs and societies). Many of the local groups prepared stands for the exhibition and over 50 residents from across the Parish were in the audience to answer searching questions from the Judges.

Even though the competition was not about how many flowers were planted or how well the Village Green was ‘manicured’, it was pleasing to hear from the Judges that they had toured our area before the start of the formal presentation and had been very impressed by the general tidiness and, in particular, the well-kept appearance of the Churchyard.

Headley was declared the overall winner at the end of July; ‘Best in Hampshire’ and ‘Best in East Hampshire’. At the Award Ceremony, which took place at St. Swithun’s School in Winchester on 10th October, a cast plaque, an engraved plaque and a framed certificate were received together with a cheque for £350 towards community projects. Some of our fierce competitors and other category winners were: Vernham Dean (Runner up and Best in Test Valley); East Dean (Best Small Village); St Mary Bourne (Best in Basingstoke and Deane); Marchwood (Best in New Forest) and Enham Alamein (Highly Commended).

Steven Lugg, the Hampshire Competition Organiser, said: “Our congratulations go to all the villages in the 2009 competition. We were very impressed by the standard of the villages and the judges had a very tough job selecting the winners. Each village demonstrated something outstanding and we were delighted to be able to recognise these qualities”