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21 Communities Contest Village Competition

A total of 21 communities are in line for prizes in the 2006 Leicestershire & Rutland Best Village competition. Villages now wait in anticipation for judging visits which are due to take place during week commencing June 12th.

The competition is organised by the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland) and sponsored by Calor and the Leicester Mercury. Villages are judged on categories covering Building Community Life, Col John Heggs Best Village Hall, Village Venture, Use of Information Technology, Young People, Older People and Business. For a community to be considered for the overall Best Village Award, it must have entered the Building Community Life category plus any two other categories. Villages in line for the overall title are as follows:
Hallaton, Greetham, Diseworth and Long Whatton, Rearsby, Lubenham, Huncote, Bottesford, Thurnby & Bushby, Desford, Markfield, Barrow upon Soar, Sileby and Woodhouse Eaves.

Villages in line for category prizes only are as follows:
Mowsley, Thorpe Satchville, Thrussington, Sharnford, Thurcaston, Fleckney, Groby and Thornton.

Cash prizes are on offer to the winning communities in the competition, 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. In addition, one winning village from Leicestershire and one from Rutland 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.

Competition organiser on behalf of the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland), Diana Cook, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the response we’ve had from villages this year. Standards are always very good from Leicestershire & Rutland’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. We very much look forward to celebrating with the successful villages at the awards event on August 17th.”

For further information regarding the Leicestershire & Rutland Best Village competition, please contact Diana Cook on 0116 268 9706, email dcook@ruralcc.org.uk.

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company
tel: 0161 817 4200 / email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland)

The Rural Community Council is a registered charity that provides advice, information and practical assistance to all those who live, work and play in the rural areas of Leicestershire and Rutland.

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