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Celebration time for Essex Villages

A village in the heart of Essex is celebrating after claiming the top prize in this year’s Calor Essex Village of the Year and Best Kept Village Competition.

Rayne beat off a strong challenge from Ashdon, in the north-west of the county, to clinch the prestigious Essex Village of the Year award. They receive a special £500 award from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to acknowledge their work in “building community life”.

As Essex Village of the Year, Rayne will go forward to represent the county in the high profile Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, with the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level, as well as a share in the £39,000 prize fund.

The competition, organised annually by Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) and sponsored by Calor, also honours a raft of Best Kept Village winners, including Great Dunmow, Ingatestone, Ashdon, Stondon Massey and Langley. Stondon Massey, near Brentwood, deserves particular praise, winning its first ever Best Kept Village title, and finishing third in the Village of the Year contest. All prize winners received their awards at RCCE’s Annual General Meeting on 12th.July.

“This competition demonstrates all that is good about rural life in Essex. Our judges were enormously impressed with the evidence of pride, resilience and enterprise,” said RCCE Director, Nick Shuttleworth.

“Rayne stands out for the really positive way it is embracing change. The Parish Council provides a Community Information Point at the village hall, which has a computer available for use free of charge to all residents without access to one. Parish councillors can also be contacted via text message, to encourage input from young people. Volunteers have successfully raised £75,000 to provide a new play area, and a well supported Parish Plan has highlighted the need for further improvements at the playing field and village hall.”

He went on: “Ashdon ran it very close. This small community deserves huge credit for the way volunteers take the lead on a range of things from a social car service and a Parish Plan, through to the restoration of the village’s historic windmill. It also has an outstanding record in providing affordable housing to meet the needs of local people.”

Rural Community Council of Essex is a registered charity which promotes community projects throughout rural Essex and acts as a voice for rural people on key issues.

Further information from Nick Shuttleworth on 01245 352046 or e-mail nick.shuttleworth@essexrcc.org.uk

Photographs of the presentation to successful villages will be available after July 12th. To request a specific shot please contact Emma Flinn at Flent PR on 01618174200 or email emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company
tel: 0161 817 4200 / 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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