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Hunt for Wiltshire’s Top Villages

Villages throughout Wiltshire have until April 1st to prove why they deserve to be recognised as one of the county’s top villages by entering the 2006 Wiltshire Best Kept Village and Building Community Life competition.

Entry forms are still available for the competition, which is organised by the Wiltshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with additional support from the Warminster Journal.

The competition separates communities into Small, Medium and Large categories for judging purposes and focuses on the community spirit highlighted through a village’s well-kept environment, celebrating communities pulling together for the benefit of all residents. To begin with villages enter on a district level. The winning village from each category in the District Round then goes forward to the County Round in order to find the overall Small, Medium and Large winning villages for Wiltshire.

Prizes are on offer to the winning villages, including £500 specifically for the Building Community Life element of the competition, which has been made available thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) at both county and national level. One 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.

Branch Chairman of Wiltshire CPRE, George McDonic, wants as many villages as possible to benefit from entering the competition. He 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. The competition provides an opportunity for communities to celebrate what they’ve got and to say ‘well done’ to villagers who work together to help make community projects happen. The closing date is approaching, but there is still time for villages to put together an entry if they act now.”

For further information and entry forms, please contact Margaret Armand Smith, competition administrator, on 01380 722157, email wiltscpre@f2s.com.

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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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