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Hertfordshire Village of the Year Winners Revealed

The results of the 2006 Hertfordshire Village of the Year competition have been announced. The winners were honoured at an Awards Evening which took place on Thursday 29th June at the County Hall, Hertford.

Entries were received from a total of 10 communities and the winning villages are as follows -

The competition is sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with additional support from Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire Mercury. Also, thanks to competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year, there is an extra £500 prize money which is going to the winners in the Building Community Life, Most Improved Community Life and Best Community Project sections of the competition as well to the winners of the Dorothy Abel Smith and Peterkin Awards.

Judge Tom Davidson commented: “As always the standard of entries was very high. I was extremely impressed by the enormous amount of work that people put in for their communities. Villages in Hertfordshire provide an environment for wildlife which has been improving noticeably over the years and also encouraged interest in the environment from both villagers and visitors. It has all come together this year in Ickleford. They were always good but this year they are outstanding. In particular I would pick out the Parish Plan questionnaire for, firstly, the care with which it was compiled and, secondly, the effort put into encouraging villagers to respond, achieving an outstanding response rate of 86%. Anyone who is thinking of doing a Parish Plan would do well to consult Ickleford. This is only part of the plans that Ickleford have for their village, including a Church extension for which a considerable sum has already been raised.

As the overall winner of the competition, Ickleford will now go forward to represent the county in the prestigious national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition with the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share in the prize fund totalling more than £39,000.

Competition organiser on behalf of CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society, Jo Simson, commented: “Ickleford has been entering the competition in Hertfordshire since it was launched back in 2000 and, although it has had regular success as a category winner, this is the first year it has achieved an overall Village of the Year award so it’s great for the community that it’s persistence has paid off. We’d like to wish the village the best of luck in the national competition. It’s a strong contender and we’re sure it can do well.”

Further presentations to the Villages of the Year for East and West Hertfordshire will take place in the winning communities on Saturday 22nd July when the category winners will also be presented with framed Calor certificates.

For further information and a full judges’ summary report / details of prize allocation, please contact Jo Simson on 01438 717587, email jo@cpreherts.org.uk or visit 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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