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Four Villages In Line For County Title

A total of four villages are in line for prizes in the 2006 Calor Berkshire Village of the Year competition. Datchet, Pangbourne, Englefield and Aldermaston are now preparing for a visit from competition judges during July when an overall winner will be selected and category prizes awarded.

The competition, which is organised by the Community Council for Berkshire (CCB) and sponsored by Calor, judges communities on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Competition organiser on behalf of CCB, Mo Brickwood, commented: “The standard of the entries sent in by these four villages is extremely high and I think our judging team are going to have a very difficult task selecting a county winner. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Datchet, Pangbourne, Englefield and Aldermaston the best of luck and congratulate them on getting to this stage in the competition.”

In terms of prize money, the villages are battling it out for a total of £750 specifically for the Building Community Life category, which has been made available thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for this category at both county and national level. There is also a prize of £100 in each of the other five categories and all successful villages will receive a commemorative plaque.

The village crowned the 2006 Calor Berkshire Village of the Year will have the added honour of being 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.

Mo Brickwood added: “Following judges’ visits on July 10th and 11th, the results of the competition and the name of the village that will be representing Berkshire in the national competition will be revealed in July and a presentation evening to celebrate the results is being held in Ashampstead (last year’s winning village) on October 3rd.”

For further information regarding the Calor Berkshire Village of the Year competition please contact Mo Brickwood, Calor Berkshire Village of the Year organiser, The Community Council for Berkshire, Epping House, 55 Russell Street, Reading RG1 7XG, telephone 01635 248494, email brick.wood@virgin.net.

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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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