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Village Competition Launches

If you live in a thriving, active and inclusive village and you want a chance to celebrate your community you should consider entering the 2006 Calor Herefordshire Village of the Year competition, which is just getting underway.

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

All villages with a population of 5,000 and under are eligible to enter the competition, and entries are invited from any community organisation. Prizes will be on offer to the winning villages, including £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. In addition, the overall winning village will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent Herefordshire 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 organiser on behalf of Community First in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Nina Owen, commented: “This competition is not about perfect villages – it’s about communities working hard to make life for residents as good as it can be, in whatever ways possible. If you enter your village you will have the opportunity to highlight and celebrate what has been achieved, both within the community and to a wider audience. Participating can also be a great way of starting work towards the production of a Parish Plan as it’s the perfect opportunity to ‘health check’ a community. I can’t stress enough what a positive activity entering the competition can be, and I want as many villages to benefit as possible.”

Entries to the competition are invited from all villages in Herefordshire with a population of 5,000 and under, apart from those which won prizes in last year’s competition. For further information regarding the competitions and entry forms, please contact Nina Owen on 01684 573334, email ninao@comfirst.org.uk. The deadline for entries is the end of April and judging will take place during June. A presentation event for the winning villages will be held later in the year.

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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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