23 Kent Villages Battle for County Title

A total of 23 villages are in line for prizes in the 2006 Kent Village of the Year competition, organised by Action with Communities in Rural Kent, and now wait in anticipation as judging takes place throughout May and June.

The competition is sponsored by Calor, with additional support from BBC Radio Kent, Kent Men of Trees, Kent Community Foundation, Court Royal Assisted Living and CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England). Competing villages are as follows –

Bapchild, Bilsington, Capel le Ferne, Chart Sutton, East Langdon, East Peckham, Eynsford, Hamstreet & Orlestone, Hawkhurst, Hollingbourne, Iwade, Leigh, Manston, Old Wives Lees, Petham, Plaxtol, Pluckley, Sandgate, Sandhurst, Selling, Upchurch, Wilmington and Wye.

Competition organiser, Ruth Pascoe, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the response we’ve had from villages this year. Standards are always very good from Kent’s villages and we are sure this year will be no exception. Whether they go on to win prizes or not, they’ve all done very well and I would like to thank the communities for their hard work and commitment in putting together their entries.”

The competition judges communities on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environmental Action and (judged separately) Information Technology, and the full results will be revealed at an awards event taking place on Wednesday 6 th September at Lenham Community Centre. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners of all six categories, including £ 500 prize money for the winner of the Building Community Life category, 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. There is also a prize for the Best Newcomer to the competition.

In addition, the overall winning village will be crowned the 2006 Kent Village of the Year and will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent their 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 prize fund totalling more than £39,000.

For further information regarding the competition please contact Action with Communities in Rural Kent at info@ruralkent.org.uk, or on 01303 850816.

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company

tel: 0161 8174200 / email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

For more information on Action with Communities in Rural Kent visit www.ruralkent.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, orvisit: 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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