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Ten Villages Compete for County Title

A total of ten villages are battling it out in the 2006 Calor Durham Village of the Year competition, organised by Durham Rural Community Council (DRCC). The communities now wait in anticipation as their written entries are marked and a shortlist of villages is selected for a visit from the judging team on June 28th 29th or 30th.

The competition is sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) with additional support from Durham FM. The ten competing villages are as follows –
Lanchester, Sedgefield, Heighington, North Bitchburn, Bishop Middleham, West Cornforth, Ingleton, Gainford, St Johns Chapel and Delves Lane.

The communities are being judged on six aspects of village life: Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and ICT (Information Communication Technology). Competition organiser on behalf of DRCC, Michelle O’Keefe, commented: “Our judges will be looking for caring, inclusive communities which do their best to make life as good as it can be for all residents. All ten villages involved in the competition are strong contenders so standards are going to be high and I think our judges will have a difficult time selecting the winners.”

Prizes will be awarded to the winning villages, including a total of £1,000 prize money, £500 of which is 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.

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.

The results of the competition will be revealed in September and the winning villages will be presented with their prizes at DRCC’s AGM on Wednesday 18th October. For further information regarding the Calor Durham Village of the Year competition please contact Michelle O’Keefe at DRCC on 01207 529621, email admin1@durhamrcc.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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