Helmdon Parish Council

Of principle concern to Helmdon is the movement of 1 million cubic metres of excavated soil from one side of the Radstone Road (meaning the road from Helmdon to Brackley) to the other. This is due to the construction of a deep cutting past Radstone. Originally Radstone Road was going to be closed from early spring to autumn for 2 years, but due to local concerns EKFB has undertaken to keep the road open and instead have a traffic light controlled crossing. However, with a predicted lorry crossing every 30 seconds throughout the day it remains to be seen whether a crossing is indeed practical.

There were lots of questions about the construction, particularly regarding the dramatic devegetation of large areas that appear to be well away from the construction sites. Dave Butcher explained that sometimes this was down to ancillary works and gave the example of the temporary lanes being constructed for the A43 near the Radstone turn off, which meant hedges had to be removed for a much greater distance than would be required for the HS2 route itself.

There were also questions about the whole premise of HS2 and whether it can be stopped or changed, and what the environmental impact of it is, both in construction and operation. Dave Butcher explained that EKFB's job is to build the railway and that the bigger questions were for the politicians. Cllr Alison Eastwood, who was at the meeting as Helmdon's representative on West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) confirmed that HS2 is being constructed according to an act of parliament, and that it would take another act of parliament to change it.

Dave Butcher undertook to add some information to his presentation slides regarding the carbon costs of the project before sending a copy through. You can download these below.

Dave Butcher encouraged members of the public to ask any questions they like of HS2 by going to https://www.hs2.org.uk/in your area/ or contacting the HS2 Helpdesk on Freephone: 08081 434 434 or by email to HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk.

Cllr Alison Eastwood then spoke to the meeting, explaining that she was not a political person but was here to listen to the needs and wishes of the community. Alison explained that WNC has appointed an HS2 Marshall to keep tabs on EKFB and quickly raise any issues of local concern. She commended Helmdon Parish Council for engaging with HS2, and said that it was good that Cllr John Marchant attended HS2 meetings on behalf of Helmdon. Cllr Eastwood gave an overview of the big things happening with WNC including the development of Sixfields, warehousing at Tiffield, and the relocation of Northampton Market to St Peters car park. Finally, she mentioned the support that WNC is giving Ukrainian refugees and urged people to get in touch if they can help (see https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/homes-ukraine).

Finally, Falcutt resident Phillip Ward presented the idea of forming a Community Energy Group for Helmdon to raise awareness of the growing energy crisis, to provide advice guidance and practical assistance (e.g. draft proofing) to those that cannot easily help themselves, and to look for ways to reduce energy consumption (e.g. insulation), and the cost of energy purchasing (e.g. buying groups). It is proposed to hold a meeting in the morning of Saturday 21 May 2022 in the Reading Room to discuss the idea further and to see if a small group can be formed to take it forward. Further details will be on the web site and Facebook.

Parish Council Chair, Danny Moody, thanked everyone for attending and for their good questions and he encouraged people to come along to parish council meetings (see calendar) or at least follow what the parish council does via the web site.

For any questions related to the Annual Village Meeting, or to follow-up on anything that happened, please contact Charmaine Jay, Clerk to Helmdon Parish Council, by email at clerk@helmdonparishcouncil.gov.uk. » Less