Welcome to the Great Bowden Village Website
The beautiful village of Great Bowden lies on the edge of the Welland Valley and has a past history dating back to Anglo Saxon times.
Great Bowden still enjoys a village way of life and to this day has retained itself by largely remaining within its ancient boundaries. Surrounded by attractive countryside and separation of settlements land, Great Bowden has a unique relationship with its larger neighbour, Market Harborough.
The village’s picturesque centre consists of beautiful greens, shops, pubs, the village hall and our historic church.
With a population of approximately 1000, Great Bowden has an active Parish Council, a variety of services, a host of clubs/groups, a pre-school and a primary school.
If you would like to know more about the history of Great Bowden and its Heritage, please go to Groups. The Historical Society or Archaeological & Heritage Group can provide a wealth of information.
Please view the current Village Newsletter which includes articles and news items from local residents.
Select event for venue & further information. If you'd like an event added please tell us about it here
News & Information
Don't Forget
Great Bowden Parish Council publish all their Agenda's & Minutes online as well as contact information :-
www.greatbowden.leicestershireparishcouncils.org/
LIBERAL Democrat Phil Knowles has won the Great Bowden and Arden by-election
The result was:
Barry Champion (Cons) - 598 votes
Phil Knowles (Lib Dem) - 966
Majority: 378
Voter turnout: 27.8 per cent.
http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/news/BREAKING-NEWS-Lib-Dems-win.6022844.jp
'Great Bowden Entertains'
Present a local evening of entertainment for
February Fun 
7.30pm Great Bowden Primary School
18th, 19th and 20th February 2010
with
Fawlty Towers and Friends .. An evening of three halves!
'Communication Problems'
written by John Cleese and Connie Booth
Recitals, Songs and Dances
then
Sing-along's from the big Screen
Tickets from Welton's
£5 (£4 concessions)
Licensed Bar and Raffle
greatbowdenentertains@yahoo.co.uk
Great Bowden Recital Trust presents…
Junior X Factor 2010 Competition
Calling All Young Musicians
As part of the continued work of the Great Bowden Recital Trust to provide performance opportunities for local young musicians, and after the successful 2008 competition which saw over 140 young musicians enter, the Trust is delighted to announce the launch of the 2010 Junior X Factor.
This competition is open to all musical children and young people living within 10 miles of Great Bowden who either sing or play a musical instrument and perform either on their own or with a group. Prizes to the value of £500 are available thanks to generosity ABC Music in Market Harborough and the Great Bowden Recital Trust.
For All Young Musicians
So, whether it’s your brother or sister, son or daughter, friend or acquaintance – if they can sing or play a musical instrument either on their own or in a group, this competition is for them. The only qualifying criteria is that they must live within 10 miles of Great Bowden.
Age Categories & Dates
Entrants have been divided into three categories for the initial heats. The winners of each heat will then compete against each other in the finals.
School Years 10-13 18 April 2010 Great Bowden Village Hall
School Years 7-9 24 April 2010 Great Bowden Village Hall
School Years 1-6 8 May 2010 Great Bowden Village Hall
All Winners Final 15 May 2010 St Peter & St Paul Church, Great Bowden
Prizes
- Each heat winner will be presented with ABC Music vouchers to the value of £50
- In addition, the Final winner will be presented with ABC Music vouchers to the value of £100 and a glass engraved trophy
- Also, the most promising performer will receive finance for 6 months music lessons (max £250) funded by the Great Bowden Recital Trust
Entries
Each performer just needs to complete an Entry Form available from school music teachers or the Trust website: www.gbrecitaltrust.co.uk. There is no entry fee, all that we ask is for all Entry Forms are returned to the address given on the form by 01 April 2010 at the latest. Once all entry forms have been received, the Trust will contact each participant, in writing, with their allocated heat time.
For each heat, the performer must play one piece up to 4 minutes in length. They are able to bring CD accompaniment or they can perform without accompaniment. The winners of each heat will be published on the Trust website within 48 hours of each heat.
APPLICATION BY FOCSA SERVICES (UK) LTD
The Parish Council have been notified that the application by FOCSA Services for parking and storing of refuse vehicles, provision of a vehicle workshop and bulking of dry recyclable materials at Tin House Farm / N P Timber, Welham Lane has now been received by the County Council.
The County Council’s Identity Number for the Application is 2009/C168/03. The deadline for comments is now CLOSED (25th Jan)
A copy of this application can be viewed and downloaded via the following link www.leics.gov.uk/eplanning_searchform.htm then entering the above application number and clicking search.
The officer dealing with the application is Miss Jennifer Shaw and she can be contacted on 0116 305 7054
More Information
Other articles including Waste site handed over, Parish Council Response and Harborough Mail articles are held on the Archive section for a record of information.
New owners of Welton's introduce themselves
Our names are Nicky and Milan, and we moved to the village, just over 2 years ago.
We both have full-time jobs, so we are hoping the current staff will remain in the business, and help us to build on Welton's good name.
We will be extending the product ranges over the coming weeks and months.
We hope to be able to offer:-
Fine wines, Port and speciality beers.
Dry Cleaning-drop off and collection service.
Internet, fax, scan and copying service.
Fruit and Veg-with delivery service of weekly boxes.
We are also going to continue with the tea room and hopefully build on this.
We are also planning to open later, to offer as much convenience to the village as possible.
I think we all agree the Post Office is a necessity for everyone.
We look forward to providing a great service in Great Bowden.
Nicky & Milan
Welton's Opening Hours Information
Tel: 01858 465433 or Email: nicky@weltonsdeli.com
HOUSING
Future of district – ‘best way forward’
Residents who helped the council plan for future development in the district can now view what is being considered as the best way forward.
The key points emerging from the potential strategy are:
- 30% of future housing in the district will be located at the Leicester fringe, the majority of which will be close to the A6.
40% to Market Harborough, the majority of which will be to the north west of the town, and 30% spread between other settlements. Rural development will be limited to that which supports affordable housing, local services and local employment.
- New shops and other services will be created in existing retail centres. There will be limited new business and industrial land.
- There will be greater emphasis on 'river corridors' and so-called 'green wedges', which are areas of green space between urban areas which help separate developments, as well as maintain their character and identity.
In January, a six week consultation will begin to get residents' views on the Core Spatial Strategy draft, which is currently being finalised.
View the document at www.harborough.gov.uk/corestrategy or click here.
Core Spatial Strategy -Towards a Final Draft - October 2009
All information above taken from HDC dedicated page.
New - Crime Map
A new crime mapping service has just been launched which also give the details of the local police team. The link is below and can also be found on the Neighbourhood Watch page for future reference.
Crime Map for Great Bowden and Arden Ward
The site will take a moment to open.
A History of Great Bowden School
A very interesting history of our school from 1839-2009 with archive material and photographs leading through to live memories and the present day.
To order a copy please click on the image below to view application form.
Books cost £6 (Book £5.00 + £1.00 P&P)
All proceeds go to the School and the Great Bowden Historical Society.
Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust - Great Bowden Group
LRWT/Natural History page with news & events
please click to enlarge Winter 2009-2010 Programme
Lorries Using Village Centre
It is noticeable that heavy lorries are continuing to use the village as a through-route and in particular ignoring the lorry restriction on Dingley Road. The only way for the village to make an impact on this problem is to complain and the more people that do so the better the effect.
All that is required is to provide in written form to the Police Inspector, MH Police Station is a short note providing:
Date/time of incident
Description of lorry: type / colour of vehicle, owners name and if possible the registration number.
Direction of Travel: from or to Corby
Road being used: particularly Dingley Road
Please be active.
Compiled by John Hunt
Mobile Library - A Valuable Service
Free book loan including bestsellers for all ages. Talking Books (hire charge).
Every other Tuesday, The Green, Great Bowden 3pm – 3.45pm
2010 dates are:
| January - 5 &19 | February - 2 & 16 | March - 2, 16 & 30 |
| April - 13 & 27 | May - 11 & 25 | June - 8 & 22 |
| July - 6 & 20 | August - 3, 17 & 31 | September - 14 & 28 |
| October - 12 & 26 | November - 9 & 23 | December - 7 & 21 |
Main Library in Market Harborough is
Pen Lloyd Library, Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7LT
Tel: 0116 3053627, Fax: 01858 821265
Email: marketharboroughlibrary@leics.gov.uk
Market Harborough Library web page
For further information please contact 0116 3053627
Energy Tips
Supplied by the BIG Switch Off Campaign which took place in October 2009
Typical Energy Usage for Household Appliances
View up Station Road
Archive
* Population figures taken from the 2001 census give a total of 954 residents within Great Bowden Parish. Since 2001 new properties have been built on the site of the old Countryman pub as well as on Langton Road and more recently the conversion of Bishops House into apartments. Great Bowden Parish 2001 Census of Population.
The Village Web site
Great Bowden’s village web site was created by volunteers who are members of the Compass Group.
Information has been provided by groups and individuals within the village as well as suggestions which have shaped it into the web site we have today.
www.greatbowden.org hopes to provide information on groups and services within the village as well as information or links to, travel, tourism etc which may be of use. The much loved Village Newsletters are also available to view.
News items on meetings and events may be submitted to the details below for inclusion.
We endeavour to ensure the information on the site is up to date and accurate but if you do discover that there is a broken link or an error with information provided, please do let us know so that it can be addressed.
Contact us here or email greatbowden@aol.com
Documents available to download on this site are saved in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader to view them. Click the link below to download the software.
