Catching up with Highnam, triple prize-winners in Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2025
Photo caption: left to right, Highnam Parish Council Chair Charles Coats, Parish Clerk Wendy Barnard, Parish Council Vice Chair Nick Cook and GRCC Community Development Officer Sabrina Dixon, standing in front of a carved bench inscribed with William Blake's words from the Hymn "Jerusalem", the music for which was written by Highnam composer Sir Hubert Parry.
Highnam is a village of about 2000 inhabitants, located just 3 miles north-west of Gloucester but part of Tewkesbury Borough. Although well-known for the grand house and gardens at Highnam Court, and its frescoed church decorated by artist Thomas Gambier Parry, most of the village is the result of large-scale housebuilding during the last few decades.
"Highnam is an interesting village because it’s new," said Parish Council Vice-Chair Nick Cook. "It was an old hamlet, but most of the village has been built since the 1970s, but it has a real village feel."
Working with Highnam Parish Council, a team of Highnam residents entered their village in last year's Gloucestershire Village of the Year competition with great success. Highnam was awarded the £2000 first prize in the Commuity-Led Health and Wellbeing category, plus the £1000 runner-up prizes in both the Climate and Environment category and the Digital and Innovation category.
Deciding how to make the best use the prize money, in consultation with the residents, has been quite a time-consuming task for the parish council over the last few months: "We felt a very strong responsibility to deliver schemes which were tangible, targeted, and could be sustained,” explained Nick.
The eventual decision on how to use the £2000 Community-Led Health and Wellbeing prize was quite novel. "We all had different ideas but we decided we want a flag pole which will turn into a Christmas tree with lights at Christmas," said parish council Clerk Wendy Barnard. "It will be a focal point for the village!"
The flag pole will be located on a large green space at the entry to the village, not far from the village church and community centre, as shown in the photograph above. The flagpole will fly the flag of Gloucestershire for most of the year, but in December it will be transformed by ropes of white LED lights to become a huge christmas tree. "We have the Christingle walk every year, and they will be able to meet there to sing and start their walk," said Wendy.
The £1000 runner-up prize from the Climate and Environment category, plus money donated by Highnam's not-for-profit pop-up-pub, has funded the construction of a tool shed and rainwater storage tanks in the village's recently-planted Community Orchard.
The parish council plan to use the £1000 runner-up prize from the Gloucestershire Village of the Year Digital and Innovation category to help develop the village's DAISI digital support drop-ins, which are held in Highnam Old School once a fortnight.
“We hold DAISI drop-ins that are becoming more popular with residents," explained Wendy. "We want to make them more accessible for everybody. I’d like to set up a bigger community hub so the DAISI drop-in would run as part of that, hopefully including a repair café."
Nick added: “It’s an evolving thing. The money is going to help DAISI get more established and move onto the next stage, adding more community services. It’s not just the £1000, it’s what that can generate – it’s a catalyst.”
After their experience of entering the Gloucestershire Village of the Year competition in 2025, what advice would Nick and Wendy offer to other villages who are considering putting in an entry this year?
“I would say it’s very worthwhile and you’ll learn something from it. The questions on the entry form are food for thought, especially in areas like accessibility and disabled access," said Nick. "The entry form questions made us look further than the usual parish council business – it’s quite stimulating.
“It’s a challenge but it’s a really worthwhile thing to do – it makes you focus on the community but it brings people together and brings a pride. If you don’t make an effort you don’t get the reward.”
Parish Clerk Wendy added these final words: “It does open your eyes to so much, to everybody’s needs. It can help you become a better community by thinking about your entry.”
Entry forms for Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026 will be available on the GRCC website in late February.
