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Calor Village of the Year Winners Revealed

The winning villages in the 2006 Calor Herefordshire Village of the Year competition have been revealed.

A total of four villages were in line for prizes in the competition, which is organised by Community First in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Villages were judged on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The overall winning village, gaining the prestigious title of 2006 Calor Herefordshire Village of the Year, is Tarrington. The runner up is Marden.

Tarrington has also been declared the winner of the Building Community Life section of the competition. Thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for the Building Community Life category at both county and national level, this section carries a total of £500 prize money. Cash prizes and framed commemorative certificates will be presented to the winning villages at a presentation event due to take place during September.

Competition organiser on behalf Community First, Nina Owen, commented: “Our judges found the standard of entries to be very high and it was very difficult to choose the winning villages. There were some very enthusiastic communities involved in this year’s competition and it was encouraging to meet so many people who are passionate about the village where they live and who are keen to share that passion with the wider community.”

As the 2006 Calor Herefordshire Village of the Year, Tarrington will now go forward to 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. More than 40 villages representing counties across England will be competing in the competition and Tarrington will initially be judged against villages from Avonside, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

For further information regarding the Herefordshire Village of the Year competition please contact Nina Owen on 01684 573334, email ninao@comfirst.org.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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