Seagrave, Leicestershire

Seagrave, Leicestershire, has won the People category for the Central England region of the 2008 Calor Village of the Year® award.

The Leicestershire village of Seagrave, situated to the north of Leicester and the west of Melton Mowbray has a population of approximately 500.

Keen to be a village that is ‘full of life’, community spirit is key in Seagrave and all residents, from the youngest to the oldest, are encouraged to get involved in village life.

With this mind, the community works hard to provide as much as possible in terms of services, facilities and activities within the village boundaries – no mean feat for a village as small as this!

The War Memorial Hall, built over 50 years ago using public subscription and on land donated by local farmers, is the hub of village life, housing many of the groups, societies and activities that take place on a regular basis.

The local school is also integral to the community with pupils encouraged to take a significant role in village life.

One of the latest ventures in the village is the establishment of a youth club in order to serve the needs of the ever growing teenage population in Seagrave. A youth coordinator has been appointed and funds are being sought.

Essential to this project was consultation by a number of young residents with their peers in order to gauge what they wanted from the new service.

A caring and welcoming village, volunteers visit the homes of senior residents who might be in need of support and to make sure they’re kept informed of the latest community news and upcoming activities. This same group of volunteers also delivers the village welcome leaflet to new residents.

Following the loss of the village shop and post office, work is now underway to extend the War Memorial Hall in order to house a community shop and post office.

A survey of residents highlighted that people are wiling to support a community shop and villagers are now well on the road to success with this project.