Stop Press

Somerset Village of the Year Winners Revealed

The winning villages in the 2006 Calor Somerset Village of the Year competition have been revealed at a presentation event held on Sunday 2nd July.

The competition judged communities on six aspects of village life in total with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). A total of 11 villages were in line for prizes in the competition, which is run by the Community Council for Somerset. It is sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with additional support from the Somerset County Gazette and Orchard FM. BBC Somerset Sound have also been very supportive this year, getting involved with the judging and going out to shortlisted villages to record an ‘Audio Tour’. Continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year has also led to the availability of an extra £500 in Somerset’s Building Community Life section.

The village of Westbury sub Medip has been revealed as the overall winner of the competition, gaining the prestigious title of Calor Somerset Village of the Year for 2006. Prizes have also been awarded as follows:

Small Village of the Year
Nynehead

Medium Village of the Year
Westbury sub Mendip

Large Village of the Year
North Curry

Building Community Life Winners
Winsham
Shepton Beauchamp
Shipham
Nynehead
North Curry

Business Winner
Shepton Beauchamp

ICT Winner
Winsham

Young People Winner
Nether Stowey

Older People Winner
Sampford Brett

Environment Winner
Westbury sub Mendip

Commended for Building Community Life
Leigh on Mendip

Commended for Young People and Fostering Community Spirit
Brushford

Highly Commended
Sampford Brett Village History and Archive Group

Highly Commended for Environmental Education
Batcombe

Malcolm Beacham of Calor presented the winning communities with their awards which consisted of cash prizes and framed certificates.

Competition organiser, Katy Calvert, commented: “I would like to congratulate all of the successful villages in the competition. Standards were high this year and the judges had a difficult time selecting the winning communities. Judges selected Westbury sub Mendip as the overall winner because of its strength across all six categories; however it faced some tough competition for the overall title from the other villages involved.”

As the overall winner of the competition and 2006 Calor Somerset Village of the Year, Westbury sub Mendip will now go forward to represent the county in the prestigious national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition. More than 40 villages across England will be competing in the competition, which has a total prize fund of over £39,000 and a top prize of £7,000. Westbury sub Mendip will be representing Somerset in the West England region of the competition against villages from Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Avonside, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Katy Calvert concluded: “We wish Westbury sub Mendip the best of luck with the next stage of the competition. It’s a great community full of enthusiastic and motivated residents and we’re sure they’ve got what it takes to do really well at national level.”

For further information regarding the Calor Somerset Village of the Year competition or to request a full judges’ report please contact Katy Calvert at the Community Council for Somerset on 01823 331222.

- ends -

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

Click here to download this press release in Word format