Oundle Chronicle NEW! THE FALCON POLICE GREEDY REPORT BEAT PIGLET p5 p14 p11 Established 1991 Best Newspaper 2016 Shine School Media Awards Spring 2019 Issue 50 Bridge weight restrictions introduce traffic chaos Festival fun begins at the Vintage Fair Erica Pascoe two-wheel excitement the annu- Oundle will be hosting a bold al Oundle Classic Bike Rally will new event this month, the Oundle follow two different routes at 9am Vintage Funfair on Saturday 18th and 10am. May from 10am-4pm in the Market The entire event hopes to raise Place. more than £14,000 to repair the The action-packed day will in- clock and bells of St Peter’s Church. clude a vintage market and antique The idea to raise money for the fair, church tower and clock tours, town clock and church bells was a display of classic vehicles, tower born during an Oundle Business abseiling, a bike rally, and a perfor- Association meeting when the town mance stage. For children there will clock repair was discussed. Chair- be a teddy bear parachute jump man of the organising committee, and a vintage fun fair with rides Philip Amps said: “A number of us and traditional games. who were born and bred in Oundle The new bollards were damaged within days of installation The Vintage Market and Antique recognised that our town clock and Fair will be the centrepiece of the church bells were rather special to Tom Pilsbury Last year, an inspection and festival with 60 stalls, including us and we should do something The first phase of the prepara- further investigations revealed that vintage and antique fashion, home- about helping to raise the money tions for the work to repair much of the bridge’s structure had ware, vinyl, jewellery, posters, required for the repair.” Oundle’s North Bridge has been become weakened and refurbish- maps, furniture and much more. Much of the community has got completed. ment work was needed. Live music on the performance involved in the cause, including Northamptonshire Highways To protect the structure while stage will provide entertainment the many businesses on the com- told the Oundle Town Council in repair work is carried out, a three- from 11am-6pm, with an array of mittee. Philip Amps said: “Even late April: “We are currently aiming tonne weight restriction has been musicians and performers. Vans those businesses who are not on for the second week of July to start placed on the bridge. Bollards for and stalls with street food, along- the committee are helping out with works.” Because the bridge is a list- vehicle width restrictions were also side the usual shops and eateries sponsorship or providing support ed structure, Highways is required installed. will provide plenty to eat. by supplying services.” to obtain listed building consent for The works for the width To kick off the weekend, on Continued on page 2 all work. Friday 17 May there will also be a 1950s inspired dance in the church, The Clock of St Peter's Fletton Field campaign soldiers on with a full bar, ice cream sodas, Erica Pascoe When the Oundle Recreation The campaign raised £229,460 ‘rock & roll food’, and live music The clock in St Peter’s tower is and Green Spaces Group started towards a target bid of £280,357, and dancing from 7.30pm. Vintage believed to date to the 19th cen- the campaign to purchase Fletton but had to allow the crowdfunding 1950s dress is optional, however tury. It is a flat bed, three train Field in April 2018, Northampton- appeal to expire on 31st December. there are prizes for best dressed. clock which is weight driven with shire County Council (NCC) had Andy Jeavons, Chair of ORGCG Booked tours beginning at a pendulum along with a six foot informed them via their agent, said: “We are massively grateful 9.00am will offer the chance to cast-iron skeleton dial backed with Connells, that they wished a swift for the support from the town. The climb the winding staircase into copper. The left section refers to a sale, and that a decision on the people we have met at markets and the bell ringing chamber where the gravity drop hammer that strikes successful bid would be made by fairs have shown a huge amount of clock mechanism can be viewed. the hours on the tenor bell and the August 2018. support.” Continuing on through the tower, right section links to various The group submitted a bid and The group’s bid to purchase the the tour will take visitors to the treble bells chiming the Westmin- organised a crowdfunding appeal field remains on the table, with viewing platform at the top of the ster chimes. with 31 December 2018 as the the significant financial support church where there is access down In 1974 the clock was converted closing date. offered from Oundle Town Council a wooden staircase to the hidden to automatic winding, leaving the It was discovered, however, that and Oundle School. If the bid is ‘Room in the Spire’. (If the per- clock still driven by weights, but NCC had not submitted a section ultimately successful, a charity will egrine falcon has laid eggs in a nest the weights were wound by motors 77 application which would allow be established for the management on the tower by then, the tours will rather than by hand. This required them to dispose of a former school of the field in perpetuity by a trust. unfortunately have to be cancelled.) the installation of bulky chains playing field. An application was In response to a letter from MP For motoring enthusiasts, a clas- and frames to harness the winding belatedly submitted, and despite Tom Pursglove, NCC has indicated sic vehicle display will be parked mechanism, which was powered by two previous consultations having its intention to seek planning per- along West Street and New Street electricity. already been completed, a third mission for building on the site, but showing off a range of cars such as Because the mains had no back consultation was announced with a has given no indication of a revised Aston Martins, Ferraris, Mercedes, Continued on page 2 deadline of 18 April 2019. timescale. Jaguars and Lamborghinis. For 2 Oundle Chronicle ISSUE 50 - 2019 Bridge continued from page 1 County council resumes responsibility The restrictions to Oundle North Bridge started on 25th March and took for road gritting Chronicle approximately six days. The A605 Patrick Boyle invaluable assistance of our partner and Barnwell Road junction signals Conservative leader Cllr Matt Northampton Borough Council Team were operational in mid March. Golby announced that North- means we are able to put extra The early phase of the road amptonshire County Council will money into the service to make works caused significant traffic reverse its precautionary gritting improvements.” disruption on the A605 with long policy. In addition, a new ‘intermediate’ delays while the new traffic lights Last October, the NCC decided gritting network will be implement- were installed. One commuter said: to reduce the total length of roads ed within the current financial year “It took me two hours to get from gritted from 1954km to 1543km (a in order to maximise coverage. Clopton to Oundle.” reduction of 21%) in order to save The grit is a combination of grit To avoid this traffic, motorists £475,000. The gritting fleet was salt and molasses which gives a used short cuts to avoid the heavy reduced from 26 to 19 vehicles, and higher resistance to being washed traffic. Many cars took a “rat run” the NCC placed greater responsi- away by rain or blown away by the diversion through Pilton, travelling bility on individual parish councils wind. Salt dissolves into the water at great speed over a small humped to resolve their own gritting-related and lowers its freezing point so it THE TEAM back bridge and along the narrow problems. will remain liquid at temperatures country roads, through Stoke However, adverse winter weath- below 0°C. Sam Bakhshalian Doyle, causing chaos along the er in January exposed the deficien- The NCC’s response was par- Giovanni Bernardi single lane through the village. cies of the policy and resulted in tially a consequence of 3,200 sig- Philipa Bourne The width restrictions on car accidents on roads that had not natures to a petition founded by Jo Patrick Boyle the bridge have caused further been gritted. Mumford. MP Tom Pursglove also Johnny Capstick-Dale aggravation, with some drivers According to Cabinet Mem- stepped in and wrote a letter to the Giorgio Capuzzello complaining about the slow speed ber for Transport, Highways and county council’s leader Matt Golby Lily Hunter at which some vehicles inch Environment Cllr Ian Morris, “Our and contacted the council’s chief Jerry Li through the bollards, which were (NCC’s) increasingly stabilised executive Theresa Grant about his Grace Maund damaged by collisions from cars financial position alongside the concerns. Joseph Meisner within days of being installed. Amelia Milne Heavy goods vehicles must dial down to be shot-blast, churches in the area with eight Archie Parkinson now enter town via Oundle’s repainted and gilded. Although it bells. Some work was previously Erica Pascoe South Bridge, which underwent a would have been more cost effec- carried out to treat death watch Alfie Peterson lengthy repair programme and was tive to link this work in at the same beetle in part of the bell chamber, Tom Pilsbury strengthened in 2016. time as the internal works, restora- but other repairs were also required Stella Simpson Northamptonshire County tion of the clock dial was delayed to the wheels, frames and clappers.