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Sussex Village of the Year 2006

Action in rural Sussex is again inviting villages to enter for the Village of the Year competition for 2006. The competition is being run in conjunction with sponsorship from both Calor and the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Teresa Gittins of Action in rural Sussex says: “We are really looking forward to receiving many applications from the active villages that we know are out there. Last year Sussex had a number of winners at the national level and we want to improve on that result this year especially as it is the 10th Year of the Calor competition”.

Mayfield in East Sussex and Northchapel in West Sussex came away as regional winners in the 2005 competition..

In addition Ashington in West Sussex is one of the finalists in the overall National Village of the Year competition to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Calor competition. This competition comprises all of the national winners of the last decade.

The competition is in two parts:-

1) The Sussex Village of the Year Competition from which there will be a winner and runner-up for both East and West Sussex. DEFRA have provided the prize money for this event and it will be judged on the entry form plus a visit to short-listed villages by a team of judges.

2) Sussex winners will then be nominated to the National Calor Village of the Year Competition for which regional and national winners will receive prize money provided by Calor.

The timetable for entries and judging is as follows:-

Closing date for entries: 22 May 2006

Judging period for short-listed villages (individual villages will be notified and arrangements made for the judging): 22 / 23 June 2006

Winner announced and Sussex winners notified to Calor: 1 September 2006

Awards Ceremony – Action in rural Sussex AGM: 12 October 2006

Forms are available electronically from our website: www.ruralsussex.org.uk.

For general information please visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For more information please contact Michele Condon on 01273 407325.

Note to Editors

Action in rural Sussex is an independent charity working with rural communities across East and West Sussex.

Our vision for rural Sussex is that it is a place where an inclusive, active, community life is valued equally alongside economic success and environmental protection and where all three are pursued together.
Action in rural Sussex’s aim is to be a vigorous champion of both rural communities and the wider voluntary and community sector in Sussex. We aim to build rural communities’ capacity to respond to and control change for the benefit of all especially those at risk of exclusion or disadvantage. We will also build our own and key partner organisations’ capacity to share in the achievement of our vision.

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