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Hunt for Derbyshire's Top Village 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 Derbyshire Village of the Year competition which is currently getting underway.

The competition, organised by Derbyshire Rural Community Council (DRCC) 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).

Villages are invited to tell the judges, in their own words, what it is that makes their village a special place to live and competition organiser on behalf of DRCC, Chris Adlington, is hopeful that they will embrace the opportunity. She commented: “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. I can’t stress enough what a positive activity entering the competition can be, and I want as many villages to benefit as possible.”

Information and entry forms have been sent out to villages throughout the county encouraging them to take part. All villages with a population of 5,000 and under are eligible to enter and any community organisation can enter on behalf of a village. 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 is also a £350 prize for the village crowned overall winner, as well as cash prizes for a winner and runner up in each of the competition categories.

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 £36,000 prize fund. Last year, Derbyshire’s national nominee, the village of Ashover, gained the overall prize and ultimate accolade of being named the 2005 Calor Village of the Year^® for England.

Entries to the competition are invited from all villages in Derbyshire with a population of less than 5,000. For further information please contact Chris Adlington by email at ann@adlington35.freeserve.co.uk. Entry forms can be obtained from DRCC, tel. 01629 824797, email drcc@derbysrcc.org.uk. The deadline for entries is Friday 28th April with judging taking place during June.

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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

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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