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Barrowden Awarded for Community Enterprise

Residents of Rutland village Barrowden are celebrating after being presented with a special award by Calor in association with Rural Revival as part of the 2005 Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition.

Sheila Saunders and Jean Mitchell of Barrowden accepted the Calor in Association with Rural Revival, Community Enterprise Award on behalf of the village. Rural Revival is a campaign, run by the Plunkett Foundation, which aims to break the cycle of rural decline by empowering rural communities to fulfil their vision of flourishing village life. The campaign supports local groups to set up social enterprises which provide themselves and their communities with essential services and the opportunity to improve livelihoods.

As a result of winning the Calor in Association with Rural Revival, Community Enterprise Award, Barrowden will receive a grant of £1,000 and specialist advisory support, both of which are being provided to enable the development of the village’s community shop. All of the 40 villages that entered the 2005 Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition were judged for the award; however, Barrowden was selected as the winner because residents are already in the process of establishing a community shop, which, it is hoped, will revitalise the community.

The Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition is organised and funded by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It assesses communities on six aspects of village life with categories in building community life, business, young people, older people, the environment and, judged separately, information communication technology (ICT). Barrowden was nominated to take part in the competition by the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland). Chief executive of Rural Revival, Richard Moreton, commented: “We are delighted to be associated with Calor Village of the Year^®; it gives us the opportunity to promote the work we do in rural communities and to support more rural social enterprises in their initial stages of development.”

Celebrity author and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh was joined by Calor’s managing director, Howard Kerr, and Richard Moreton to present representatives of Barrowden with their prizes. Alan commented: “Rural communities are an essential part of the fabric of our country - they are the backbone of British life. It is for this reason that the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, which aims to support and promote village life, is such a positive event and something which I am happy to support. The competition highlights the very best of village life, encouraging villagers to work together to the benefit of all residents. More importantly, it provides a forum for communities to share best practice and encourages them to address any problems or opportunities that become apparent following their involvement in the competition.”

Sheila Saunders, the co-ordinator of Barrowden’s community shop group, commented on the village’s success: “We are extremely proud and delighted to have been presented with this special award from Calor in association with Rural Revival. The expertise and capital the village will receive as a result of winning the award are going towards establishing a community shop and post office which will be a valuable addition to our community life. Barrowden is already a thriving community, but with support from Rural Revival we are sure that life for all residents can be enhanced.”

For more information on the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition visit the website (www.calorvillageoftheyear.org) or call Calor on 01962 629768.

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd
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

Rural Revival

Rural Revival is an initiative of the Plunkett Foundation, which supports and develops rural social enterprises that combat social isolation and economic deprivation in rural areas. Rural Revival aims to harness the ideas and energy present within rural communities to address the problems of social exclusion, access to services and economic or social decline.

Rural Revival will provide packages of assistance to social enterprise initiative groups in the form of start-up grants and technical assistance from Plunkett-approved associate consultants.

For more information on the Rural Revival Campaign:

Website: www.ruralrevival.org.uk
Email: info@ruralrevival.org.uk
Tel: 01993 883636