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Hunt for Top Villages Begins

If you’re proud of your vibrant, inclusive community and want the chance to celebrate your achievements then you should consider entering your village in the 2006 Calor Bedfordshire Village of the Year competition.

The competition, organised by Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (RCC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), is looking 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 competition 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 Bedfordshire RCC, Eleanor Fox, hopes that the county’s villages will respond positively to the competition this year. She commented: “The standard of entries we’ve received from villages in past years has always been very high, and we are sure that 2006 will be no exception. Bedfordshire’s communities always have something to be proud of and taking part in this competition is a wonderful way of celebrating and promoting all that is positive about where you live. It’s not a competition about perfect villages – it’s about communities working hard to make life for residents as good as it can be, in whatever ways possible. Bedfordshire is one of the country’s smaller counties, but our villages are vibrant and committed and we know that they have the potential to do extremely well in the competition.”

Expressions of interest are being sent out to all parish councils in the county encouraging them to take part, to be returned to Bedfordshire RCC by April 28th. Villages interested in entering will then be asked to complete and return a Community Profile by Monday 12th June. All villages with a population of 5,000 and under are eligible to enter. 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 cash prizes available for a winning village in the remaining five categories and a £500 prize for the overall winner. For the third year running Bedfordshire RCC will also be offering a Smaller Communities Award.

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 £39,000 prize fund.

For further information please contact Eleanor Fox on 01234 832615, email eleanorf@bedsrcc.org.uk. The deadline for completed Community Profiles is June 12th and judging will take place during July. The winning villages will be presented with their prizes at a celebration event taking place on the evening of Tuesday 12th September at Clifton Village Hall.

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company
tel: 01223 845781 (direct) / 0161 817 4200 (main office)
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity

1. Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC) aims to be the leading agency for sustainable community development in Bedfordshire, with a particular focus on rural areas. For further information please contact Eleanor Fox, Information Officer, on 01234 832615 or email eleanorf@bedsrcc.org.uk. Please also visit our website bedsrcc.org.uk

2. BRCC is one of 38 county based Rural Community Councils in England, working under the national RCC umbrella body, ACRE. At the regional level BRCC works closely with its five sister RCCs across the East of England which together have formed a regional umbrella body, Rural Action East.

3. Achievements: Making £1 Million available via 200 voluntary groups helping young people in the county. Brokering transport between providers and rural groups. Enabling the Landfill Tax Credit Schemes to give £450,000 to 14 projects in Bedfordshire. For more information please see our website bedsrcc.org.uk.

4. BRCC is a registered charity with a membership made up of individuals, community groups, businesses and statutory bodies. Registered charity no 1061538. A company limited by guarantee and registered in England no 3327628.

5. If you would like to become a member of BRCC and help support sustainable community development within Bedfordshire please contact Eleanor Fox, Information Officer on 01234 832615.

Cardington Office:
The Old School, Cardington, Beds. MK44 3NS

Tebworth Office:
The Barn, Buttercup Farm, Hockliffe Road, Tebworth, Leighton Buzzard, Beds. LU7 9QA

Old Warden Office:
The Smithy, The Village, Old Warden, Biggleswade, Beds. SG18 9HQ

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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