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2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year Revealed

The winner of the 2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year competition has been revealed. Three villages - Hemingby, South Witham and Burgh le Marsh, were shortlisted for judges’ visits which took place on May 3rd. Standards were high and the judges had a tough time selecting a winner; however, it has been revealed that the village of Hemingby is the overall winner, gaining the prestigious title of 2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year.

The competition is organised by the Community Council of Lincolnshire on behalf of the Lincolnshire branch of the CPRE and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with additional support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). It judged communities on six aspects of village life in total with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Judges commented: “We were very impressed by the level of community spirit shown and the warm welcome we received from all three villages. South Witham was particularly successful in its application of ICT, and has some extremely successful clubs with many of the villagers involved. Burgh Le Marsh impressed us with the high turn out at the judging visit from all of the different organisations within the village and we picked up that, although Burgh Le Marsh is a large village, there was a real sense of caring and friendship amongst the community. However it was Hemingby that just edged through as the winner. It is a tight knit village with a real sense of pride in its achievements. Residents strive to provide some exceptional facilities with all sections of the community catered for, from the young to the elderly. We were also impressed by the professionalism of their presentation and the thought that had gone into making us feel welcome in the village”

As the 2006 Calor Lincolnshire Village of the Year, Hemingby will now 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 a prize fund which stands at over £39,000.

Helen Jones, vice chair of Hemingby parish council and the village’s bid co-ordinator, commented: “We are delighted to have been announced the winner of this prestigious event. The whole community put a great deal of enthusiasm and effort into our preparations for the competition and it’s great that this has been rewarded. We are all now looking forward to going through to the national Calor Village of the Year^® for England and seeing how we perform when judged against villages from throughout the country.”

It has already been revealed that Hemingby is also the winner of the Building Community Life section of the competition, which is supported by Defra. South Witham is the runner up in this section. Representatives of both Hemingby and South Witham will attend a presentation event on November 1st at Swineshead Village Hall to celebrate their success and be presented with their Building Community Life prize money as well as commemorative certificates.

Competition organiser, Teresa Palmer, added: “We are looking forward to celebrating with representatives of Hemingby and South Witham later in the year. Their success is very much deserved and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them. In addition, we wish Hemingby the best of luck in the national competition. It is a strong contender and we are sure it will fare well against the other county representatives.”

For further information about the competition please contact Teresa Palmer at the Community Council of Lincolnshire on 01529 302466, email teresa.palmer@cclincs.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 £36,000. 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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