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Dorest Village Competitions Launch

The 2006 Dorset Best Kept and Best Community competitions have just been launched and details have gone out to the county’s villages inviting them to enter.

The competitions are run by Dorset Community Action and sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with additional support from W & S Recycling, Dorset County Council, the four District Councils, the International Tree Foundation, the Dorset Echo, the Western Gazette, and Leslie Phillips MBE.

In 2005, a total of 55 villages took part in the competitions, which are designed to promote community involvement in village life with the added ‘spice’ of friendly competition. The Best Kept Village competition encourages residents to work together to keep villages tidy and well maintained. The Best Community competition judges communities on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environmental and Information Technology.

There is £500 prize money specifically for the Building Community Life category, which has been made available thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) at both county and national level.

Later in the year, one village will also be nominated to 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 the £36,000 prize fund.

Competition Co-ordinator Simon Thompson commented: “I hope that our entrants’ success in the national competition in past years will inspire villages throughout Dorset to take up the challenge and get together an entry for the county competitions. It is a positive activity and fun for the communities taking part.”

Entries to the competitions are invited from all villages in the county with a population under 2,500. Entry forms can be requested from Dorset Community Action by telephoning 01305 250 921 or downloaded from www.dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk. The deadline for entries is 7th April and the winning villages will be announced at an Awards Evening taking place on 6th October at Morden Village Hall.

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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 £36,000. First prize is £6,000 with £1,500 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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