Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire

Minchinhampton Celebrates Regional Success
Village wins through for West England in national competition

Villagers in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire are celebrating after it’s been revealed that their community has won through in the regional heats of the 2009/10 Calor Village of the Year competition, gaining the overall title for West England.

Minchinhampton was up against seven other villages, all of which had been nominated to represent their counties in this prestigious event. Its success follows a recent judging visit during which judges were shown just what Minchinhampton has to offer, with the community being showcased across four key areas: Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, and Communications – being in contact.

In addition to the overall regional title, Minchinhampton has also triumphed in the Community and Sustainability categories for West England.

With £2,000 prize money under its belt to date, the village now has a few weeks to wait before finding out if it can add at least another £7,000 to that total – as the regional judging teams come together to debate which of the regional overall and category winners deserve a national award.

Minchinhampton is up against Newton le Willows, Yorkshire (winner for North England); Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire (winner for South England); Swanton Morley, Norfolk (winner for East England); and Bonsall, Derbyshire (winner for Central England) for the title of Calor Village of the Year for England.

The national category award for Community is being contested by Crosthwaite, Cumbria; Sedlescombe, East Sussex; Swanton Morley, Norfolk; and Belchford, Lincolnshire along with Minchinhampton.

In the national Sustainability category, the village is up against Newton le Willows, Yorkshire; Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire; Potten End, Hertfordshire; and Tilton on the Hill, Leicestershire.

Calor Village of the Year manager Holly Sims comments: “Congratulations to Minchinhampton – our West England winner. Winning a regional title in this competition is a fantastic achievement and villagers should be very proud.

“I’m sure the community will be on tenterhooks over the next few weeks before the national winners are revealed. We very much look forward to hearing the outcome and wish Minchinhampton the best of luck.”

Details of the national winners will be revealed on 24 November.

The full regional results for West England are as follows –