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Bucks' Best Villages Revealed

The winning villages in the 2006 Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village and Village of the Year competitions have been revealed.

The Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village results are as follows –

The Buckinghamshire Village of the Year results are as follows –

The competitions are organised by the Bucks Association of Local Councils (BALC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with additional support from Bucks County Council, Milton Keynes Council and the District Councils from Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe.

Competition chairman, Richard Pushman, commented on the results: “This has been another good year for the Best Kept Village competition and its popularity with the county’s villages continues with some 45 entries all up to a very high level. The final selection represents the excellent standard throughout the county and, through their success the winners have displayed a high level of community commitment.

“Although the entry level to the Village of the Year competition was smaller this year, the general quality of entries was very good which made it difficult to judge. All the entrants offered a wide range of services and activities and had a high input into community development. Our congratulations go to all the successful villages in both the Best Kept and Village of the Year competitions.”

The Best Kept Village winners will be honoured during village-based presentation ceremonies taking place on Saturday 16th September when they will be presented with their cups and framed commemorative certificates.

The Village of the Year winners will receive their awards at a presentation event on Tuesday 6th October at County Hall, Aylesbury. Thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year there is an extra £500 which will go to the Building Community Life winner, Cheddington. The other winning villages will also receive framed Calor certificates and cash prizes.

In addition, as the overall winning village in the Village of the Year competition, Downley, has been nominated to go forward and 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 prize fund totalling more than £39,000. Downley will represent Buckinghamshire in the East England region of the competition, competing against villages from Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Further information regarding the competitions is available from the Bucks Association of Local Councils by email at balc@buckscc.gov.uk, or by telephoning 01296 383154.

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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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