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22 Villages Battle for County Title

A total of 22 villages covering the South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset areas are taking part in the 2006 Calor Avonside Village of the Year competition.

The first round of judging is taking place between now and July 10th when it will be decided which villages will be selected to go forward to the final judging round in August in order to find an overall winner. Villages involved in the first judging round are as follows –

South Gloucestershire: Olveston, Oldland Common, North Common, Marshfield, Wick, Hanham Abbots, Pucklechurch, Bitton and Old Down

North Somerset: Congresbury, Wrington, Long Ashton, Cleeve, Kenn, Kingston Seymour and Abbots Leigh

Bath & North East Somerset: Bathampton, Timsbury, Ubley, Norton Malreward, Stanton Drew and Wellow

The competition is organised by the Avonside branch of the CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).

Prizes are on offer to the winning villages, including £500 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 are also prizes for the best overall large village (population between 1,500 and 5,000), the best overall small village (population under 1,500), the best village in the past winners’ section, and overall small and large district winners.

In addition to winning the prestigious title of 2006 Avonside Village of the Year, the overall winning village 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.

For further information regarding the competition please contact Brian Challis by email at info@calorvillageoftheyear.org.

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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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