NACRE's 75th anniversary

Celebrating 75 years of supporting rural communities in the county

Northamptonshire ACRE is delighted to have reached its 75th anniversary on Monday 26th July 2021 and to celebrate such a milestone and the work the charity has been invovled with over those years, we held a series of online free sessions for anyone with an interest in rural affairs. The programme for the week is available here and the slides, videos and presentations are available to download below.

And of course, no anniversary celebration is complete without a cake! To toast the work of the charity over the last 75 years and look forward to the next, we held a celebration evening on Monday 26th July 2021 at the Hunsbury Hill Centre where current Trustees and staff were able to meet up with previous staff, Trustees and associated members. Not only did we have cake, but we also tested out our very own beer, the Hunsbury Hill Ale, kindly produced by Phipps Brewery. Check out the photos from the evening here.

Why not come along to our Community Festival on Sunday 5th September 2021 to try out the Hunsbury Hill Ale yourself!

ANNIVERSARY WEEK TALKS:

MONDAY 26TH JULY 2021:

SESSION ONE: Looking back at 75 years:

  • Chair's opening remarks - Gareth Lugar-Mawson, Chair of Trustees, Northamptonshire ACRE
  • Recording of the session including two lovely presentations from Jeffrey Greenwell, Vice President of NACRE and TIm Cawkwell, ex CEO of NACRE.
  • Speech from Lord Benyon, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DEFRA. Lord Benyon speaking about Northamptonshire ACRE's anniversary.

SESSION TWO: Past, present and future:

TUESDAY 27TH JULY 2021:

SESSION THREE: The importance of village halls in rural life

  • Guided tour of Stanwick Village Hall - Rebecca Moody. This is the full video of Stanwick Village Hall. Make sure you stay until the end and listen to the wonderful playing of the young musicians as they show off the hall accoustics and their skills!
  • Recording of Village Hall session. This includes a really useful session about whether a hall should become VAT registered or not and looks at 2 community hubs: Down Ampney and Barrowden Village Halls.
  • A vety brief history of village halls - Frances Harris, Community Facilities Advisor, Northamptonshire ACRE. Slides used in the recording.

SESSION FOUR: How Good Neighbours can be good friends

WEDNESDAY 28TH JULY 2021:

SESSION SIX: Natural capital, green infrstructure plans and the planning framework

SESSION SEVEN: Setting up a community orchard

SESSION NINE: Going green with energy

  • Recording of the Going Green session - Harry Mellor, Climate Action - West Northants and John Taylor, Energy Project Manager, Greater South East Energy Hub.
  • Slides from Harry and John will be available shortly

THURSDAY 29TH JULY 2021:

SESSION TEN: Rural projects

SESSION ELEVEN: Making the most of community assets

SESSION TWELVE: Broadband and village halls

FRIDAY 30TH JULY 2021:

SESSION THIRTEEN: Becoming a resilient community

SESSION FOURTEEN: What next for rural communities