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Celebration For Winning Communities In Village Competition

The winning villages in the 2006 Calor Tees Valley Village of the Year competition celebrated their success at a recent presentation event which took place at Nature’s World in Middlesbrough.

The competition is organised by Tees Valley Rural Community Council (TVRCC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Participating villages were judged on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The full results of the main competition are as follows –

1st - Stillington (£500 prize money)
2nd - Longnewton (£300 prize money)
3rd - Stainton (£200 prize money)

The Building Community Life section of the competition is supported by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) at both county and national level with a total of £600 prize money on offer, £500 of which is provided by Defra with the remaining £100 from TVRCC’s own funds. The results of this section of the competition are as follows –

1st - Stillington (£300 prize money)
2nd - Sadberge (£200 prize money)
3rd - Carlton (£100 prize money)

The prizes, including framed commemorative certificates, were presented by Carole Bennett of Calor.

As the 2006 Calor Tees Valley Village of the Year, Stillington has the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition. More than 40 villages across England will be competing in the competition, which has a total prize fund of over £39,000 and a top prize of £7,000. Stillington will initially be representing the county in the North England region of the competition against villages from Cheshire, Cumbria, Durham, Humber & Wolds, Lancashire, Northumberland and Yorkshire.

For further information on the Calor Tees Valley Village of the Year competition please contact TVRCC on 01642 213852, email tvrcc@btconnect.com.

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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:

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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