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Don't Leave Applications to the Last Minute!

Villages throughout Gloucestershire are reminded not to leave it too late if they want to enter the 2006 Calor Gloucestershire Village of the Year competition. Information and entry forms went out to villages back at the beginning of March encouraging them to take part and the deadline is fast approaching on May 26th.

The competition is organised by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) and sponsored by Calor, with additional support from DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Gloucestershire Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships, Local Strategic Partnerships Health sub-groups, Gloucestershire Primary Care Trusts, Gloucestershire First’s Rural Partnership and the usual great support from the Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire Echo and Forester.

GRCC’s Director, Stephen Wright, wants as many villages to benefit from entering as possible. He commented: “Putting together an entry for the competition can be a positive and enriching activity for communities – often, villages don’t realise just how much they’ve got going on until they actually put it down on paper. With a new simplified entry form this year, I want to encourage as many communities as possible to have a go – particularly those who haven’t entered the competition before. The closing date is approaching, but there is still plenty of time to put together an entry if villages act now. Don’t forget that every completed application form will automatically be entered into the Grand Prize Draw for a gas powered barbeque and Gazebo – perfect for any village event!”

The competition judges communities on eight categories covering Building Community Life, Older People, Business, Young People, Environment, ICT (Information Communication Technology), Healthy Village and Safer Village. A total of £4,500 prize money is 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 for this category at both county and national level. In addition, 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. This will give them the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of the prize fund totalling more than £39,000.

In response to recent enquiries from applicants, GRCC is holding half hour surgeries at Community House on Friday 12th May for any community wishing to pose questions about the competition and entry form to their district rural adviser. To book a slot either in person on by phone, please call Melanie Tarrant on 01452 528491. If you simply wish to register your interest and find out more about the competition, please call Gail Lawrence on 01452 528491.

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Editor’s Notes:-

GRCC is dedicated to enriching the lives of people living in rural Gloucestershire by supporting them through change and by enabling them to determine and develop their own communities.

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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