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Could your Community be Shropshire's Top Village?

The first round of judging in the 2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year competition has been completed and three villages have been selected to go through to the final round in order to find an overall winner.

Hemingby, South Witham and Burgh le Marsh will be visited by final round judges on May 3rd when one village will be crowned Lincolnshire’s Calor Village of the Year for 2006.

The competition, organised by the Lincolnshire branch of the CPRE and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), judges communities on six aspects of village life in total with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Two of the villages going through to the final round of judging have also been announced as the winners in the Building Community Life section of the competition, where there is £500 prize money on offer thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) at both county and national level. Hemingby is the Building Community Life winner, receiving £350, with South Witham the runner up, receiving £150.

Once selected, the 2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, with the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of a prize fund which stands at over £39,000.

Competition organiser on behalf of the Lincolnshire branch of the CPRE, Teresa Palmer, commented: “The standard of entries to this year’s competition has been very high and the judges had a tough time selecting just three villages to go through to the final round. I would like to thank all the villages that took the time to enter the competition this year and encourage them to try again if they weren’t successful – the benefits of entering the competition are so great. I’d also like to wish Hemingby, South Witham and Burgh le Marsh the best of luck for the final round of judging. We look forward to finding out which village will be representing Lincolnshire in the national competition!”

For further information about the competition please contact Teresa Palmer at the Community Council of Lincolnshire on 01529 302466, email teresa.palmer@cclincs.com.

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company
tel: 01223 845781 (direct) / 0161 817 4200 (main office)
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Calor Village of the Year^®

Calor, the leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to those living and working in the countryside, has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales for 20 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year^® for England and Wales competitions and the Calor Scottish Community of the Year competition.

The Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, now in its tenth year, was founded and developed by Calor, and is organised and funded by the company on an annual basis.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year^® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

Entry to the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition is through the existing county competition network.

Following competition support in 2005, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is once again providing Calor with additional funding in 2006 to enhance the community life element of the competition through the Building Community Life category. Defra’s special aim is to encourage the inclusion of all groups and individuals into the fabric of rural community life - building cohesive and mutually supportive communities. Defra’s involvement means that every village in England has the opportunity to enter the 2006 Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition.

The national Calor Village of the Year^® judges look for well-balanced, pro-active, caring communities which, irrespective of size, have made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all residents.

The prize money for the national Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition alone stands at over £39,000. First prize is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are five category prizes of £500 within each region (covering Business, Environment, Care for Older People, Care for Young People and Information Communications Technology), and a prize of £750 for the winner of the Building Community Life category in each of the five regions. The five regional winners of the Information Communication Technology category are judged to find an overall winner, the award for which is £1,000. There is also, thanks to the Defra support, a prize of £2,000 for an overall Building Community Life winner, which is selected from the five regional winners.

For general information on the Calor Village of the Year^® for England and Wales competitions:

email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org, tel: 01962 629768, or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For more information on the Calor Scottish Community of the Year competition:

visit: www.communityoftheyear.co.uk

For more information on Defra:

visit: www.defra.gov.uk or for information specific to rural affairs visit: www.defra.gov.uk/rural/default.htm

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