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10 Villages Battle for County Title

A total of 10 villages are battling it out in the 2006 Hertfordshire Village of the Year competition. Judging is currently underway and the results of the competition will be revealed on Thursday 29th June.

The competition is organised by CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society and sponsored by Calor in association with Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire Mercury. The villages involved in this year’s competition are as follows –
Barkway, Birch Green, Brickendon Liberty, Furneux Pelham, Hertford Heath, Hexton, Ickleford, Pirton, Redbourn and Woolmer Green.

Jo Simson, competition organiser on behalf of CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society, commented: “Our teams of three judges are visiting all 10 villages in order to give the communities a chance to expand on their written entries and prove why they deserve to be awarded one of the prizes. Cash prizes and plaques are on offer to the winners of the competition’s six categories: Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). This includes £500 prize money 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) at both county and national level. In addition, the Village of the Year East or West trophies will be awarded to two villages that have entered all six categories and performed at a consistently high standard. These will be unveiled in the winning villages on Saturday 22nd July.”

One of these villages 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.

Jo Simson added: “There are a number of past winners – at both county and national level, taking part in this year’s competition so standards should be high. It’s also very positive to see two villages participating for the first time: Birch Green and Hexton. We hope that the competition will be fierce and do not envy the judges their difficult task of selecting the winners.”

For further information regarding the competition contact Jo Simson on 01438 717587, email jo@cpreherts.org.uk, or refer to the CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society website www.cpreherts.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:

CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society

1. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society’s principal aim is to safeguard the natural environment of the county, especially the Green Belt and other protected areas. It also seeks to maintain the built environment, particularly historic settlements and buildings. The President is the Lord Lieutenant, Sir Simon Bowes Lyon, KCVO. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society has over 1400 members.

2. CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society is the County Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). This national charity exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. It has 60,000 supporters countrywide and is open to all.

3. Further information on CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society Village of the Year Competition can be obtained from Jo Simson on 01438 717587 or email jo@cpreherts.org.uk.

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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