27 Suffolk Villages Battle for County Title  

A total of 27 villages covering Suffolk’s six districts are in line for prizes in the 2006 Calor Suffolk Village of the Year competition and now wait in anticipation as the district round of judging begins in June.

The competition is run by the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) in partnership with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Suffolk County Council (SCC) and the six district councils. Sponsorship and prizes are provided by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with additional support from Adnams, Notcutts, SCC and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Competition organiser and Chairman of the SALC County Executive, Cllr Rona Burt, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the response we’ve had from villages this year. Standards are always very good from Suffolk’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 villages on their strength of community spirit, focusing on how all members of the community are provided for and how they care for their public and natural spaces. Prizes include £1,000 for the county winner, £450 for the county runner up and £250 for a third place village. All county finalists will also be presented with commemorative Calor certificates. Once a winner from each of Suffolk’s six districts has been selected in July, these villages will face further judging on July 20 th and 21 st. A number of villages will then go on to the final round of judging which will take place on Saturday 5 th August when the overall winner will be chosen.

In addition to £1,000 prize money, the overall winning village will be crowned the 2006 Calor Suffolk 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, including a full list of entrants, please contact Cllr Rona Burt on 01638 712309, email ronabulldog@aol.com.

- ends -

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

tel: 0161 817 4200 / 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, 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

Click here to download this press release in Word format