Events
Upcoming events across the Northumberland Uplands
Haltwhistle Kids are doing it for Themselves
After a summer of fun workshops ranging from Graffiti Art to Jewellery making and Drumming, the young people of Haltwhistle are bringing it all together starting on Saturday 11 September at the town’s Swimming and Leisure Centre. The day will be given over to fun activities, live bands and exhibitions of their work.
“The Phoenix Festibition” is the climax of a busy summer for Haltwhistle kids and they would like to invite everyone to come along and see what they have been up to. The Festival is on from 10am-4pm and admission is free for everyone aged nine to ninety.
There will be a family fun day at the Centre on Sunday 12 Sept from 10am-2pm for littler ones accompanied by an adult. Again, admission is free and will include refreshments, games, entertainment and creative activities.
The workshops have been coordinated by Ayesha Banks, youth worker, working with the Haltwhistle Partnership.
Ayesha said “There has been a lot of hard work done by the young people in Haltwhistle to stage this event and it shows just what they can do for themselves given the chance. I would ask everyone who can to come along see their work and enjoy the day.”
A Display of the Artwork and Crafts will run from Monday 13th September for two weeks in the former Clive Brown’s shop recently vacated by Haltwhistle Library.
“The Phoenix Festibition” is supported by the Northumberland Uplands Local Action Group. NULAG is hosted by Northumberland National Park and uses the Leader approach to make funding decisions. The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by One NorthEast in the North East region.’
Tom Burston, NULAG Coordinator, said ‘we are delighted to be able to support this creative local initiative. Great credit is due to everyone involved, particularly all of the young people from Haltwhistle.’
Family Fun Day at Vallum Farm
Family Fun Day at Vallum Farm in aid of a not-for-profit organisation that helps people with movement disorders. Sunday, 18th July 2010, 10.00am - 4.00pm
SILENT AUCTION OF FAB PRIZES INCLUDING: ALNWICK GARDENS MEMBERSHIPS, 3 COURSE MEALS FOR TWO, YEAR’S SUPPLY OF ICE CREAM & MORE!!!
*Cookery demos by Tony Binks * tombola * stalls * BBQ * ice cream * apple bobbing & other games * playground * Car wash *
* Meet Rowan & Jet, the hippotherapy ponies *
Our baker Gill has made lots of delicious carrot cakes & apple tarts for our cake stall!
10.00am warm-up with Bespoke Fitness followed by a walk round the fields led by Rowan, the hippotherapy pony
For further details visit the Horse Power for Ability and Vallum Farm websites.
Opening of ‘The Bridge’ – Community Library, Visitor Information Point and Internet Café
A strong community spirit in Haydon Bridge and the wider parish has led to the successful development of ‘The Bridge’ as a Community Library, Visitor Information Point and Internet Café. ‘The official opening of The Bridge will take place on 21 May.
The former County Council Library building has been refurbished and upgraded to fulfil its new expanded role. Alongside this Haydon Parish now has a new website for the benefit of visitors, local businesses and the community (www.haydon-bridge.co.uk) as well as information for visitors about what the area has to offer.
The initiative reflects a partnership between the Parish Council and the recently established Haydon Bridge Development Trust, a charity and limited company set up to take forward community led initiatives identified in the Haydon Parish Plan.
Funding was secured from the County Council, Parish Council, local charities through the Community Foundation, and through the Northumberland Uplands Local Action Group. NULAG is hosted by Northumberland National Park and uses the Leader approach to make funding decisions. The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by One NorthEast in the North East region.
There were four main reasons why NULAG agreed to put over £50,000 of funding into this initiative:
- The level of community participation in the parish planning process was a real strength in that the community had identified their own priorities. This is consistent with a key Leader principle that development should run from the ‘bottom up’
- NULAG were keen to work with a newly formed Development Trust
- The number of committed volunteers involved in the project, speaks highly of the level of community involvement in the development of Haydon Bridge
- It was noteworthy that the community wanted to retain its library and build on it so that a number of different services were offered
Roger Wilson, Chair of NULAG said: “we were very impressed with the depth of community consultation and clear vision for the sustainability of this rural community which underpinned the funding bid to NULAG. This has been carried through into delivering real benefits on the ground for both local people and visitors”.
County Councillor Alan Sharp said: “I was delighted to provide some capital funding support towards the refurbishment costs of the library. It is a privilege to represent a community which is so committed to taking practical action to address the issues and challenges it faces.”
Marguerite Gracey, the Heritage and Libraries Manager for Northumberland County Council emphasised the commitment of the volunteers and the excellent partnership between the community and the County Council.
She said: “The Development Trust and Parish Council have shown great determination in developing The Bridge and we have been very impressed by the recruitment of well over 30 volunteers, who we have been training to run the library service. This is a really successful partnership between the community and local government.”
Mark I’Anson, the Chairman of the Development Trust said: “We have come a long way since we developed the Parish Plan to address the economic and social sustainability of our community following the development of the Haydon Bridge bypass. The opening of The Bridge is tangible evidence of the energy and skills of our community to fight for its future health and well-being.
“We see the opening of The Bridge as just the start of a bigger development programme. The next phase will include developing the role of, and activities at The Bridge; further volunteering opportunities; more walks and trails for walkers and cyclists; better publicity and marketing about what our community has to offer; improved welcome and customer service for visitors; and a range of activities about the artist John Martin linked to the major exhibition at the Laing and the Tate galleries in 2011
We all give our time voluntarily – directors and the volunteers at The Bridge – and we have no paid staff. We would like to thank all our funders and partners for their ideas, practical help and support. As a community we have shown we can deliver results and with the continued support of our partners we will continue to make exciting progress.”
The official opening of The Bridge, Church Street, Haydon Bridge, will take place at 3pm on Friday 21 May.
For further information contact Peter Fletcher, Secretary, Haydon Bridge Development Trust on: 01434 684944 or email: admin@haydon-bridge.co.uk
Update: Northumberland Uplands Local Action Group Meetings for 2010
Throughout the New LEADER Approach, the Local Action Group will visit as many locations around the Northumberlands Uplands as possible to hold their meetings. The scheduled dates for 2010 are:
- Thursday, 04th February
- Thursday, 08th April
- Wednesday, 09th June
- Tuesday, 10th August
- Tuesday, 12th October
- Thursday, 09th December
The Local Action Group committed to using community buildings to facilitate the process, thereby supporting the very projects that LEADER is designed for.
The New LEADER Approach is much more than funding programme - it a whole new joined-up way of thinking for the Northumberland Uplands area. To request that your event is listed here, please Contact Us.
For all the latest rural news and events in Northumberland, visit the Rural Voices website.
