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Cambridgeshire's Top Villages Revealed

The winning villages in the 2006 Cambridgeshire Village of the Year competition have been revealed at a presentation event held on the evening of Tuesday 5th September at the Burgess Hall, St Ives.

The Cambridgeshire Village of the Year competition judged communities on various aspects of village life, from care for older residents to the way business is supported in the community. A total of eight villages were shortlisted for prizes in the competition, which is run by Cambridgeshire ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) with sponsorship provided by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year has also led to the availability of £500 in Cambridgeshire’s Building Community Life section.

The village of Orwell has been revealed as the overall winner of the competition, gaining the prestigious title of 2006 Cambridgeshire Village of the Year.

Prizes have also been awarded as follows –

Building Community Life

1st Orwell (£400)
2nd Little Paxton (£150)
3rd Parson Drove (£100)

Young People

Haslingfield (£100)

Older People

Haslingfield (£100)

Environment

Little Paxton (£100)

Information Technology

Abbotsley (£100)

Special Project Award

Winner Orwell (£150)
Runner up Fulbourn (£100)

Jeff Penfold of Calor, Sandy Cruikshank representing Defra, Paul Richardson, editor of Archant Herts and Cambs, Chairman of CPRE Cambridgeshire, Mike Bratby, and Lord Fairhaven presented the winning communities with cash prizes and framed commemorative certificates

Competition judges commented: “We were once again very impressed by the many and varied activities taking place in villages throughout Cambridgeshire, ranging from a scarecrow festival to ICT training! We also saw some very ambitious special projects and the enthusiasm and dedication of those involved in putting together material for the competition was really refreshing to see. Our congratulations go to all the winning villages. Hopefully their success in this year’s competition will inspire them to keep up the good work.”

In addition to gaining the prestigious title of 2006 Calor Cambridgeshire Village of the Year, Orwell has the honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious 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. Orwell will initially be representing Cambridgeshire in the East England region of the competition, competing against villages from Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

For further information regarding the Calor Cambridgeshire Village of the Year competition please contact Julie Weekes at Cambridgeshire ACRE on 01353 860850, email julie.weekes@cambsacre.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:

Calor Cambridgeshire Village of the Year

1 The CALOR Village of the Year® competition can act as a catalyst for strengthening rural communities. Simply taking part can bring people together, including some of those who may not previously have been motivated to get involved.

Entering the competition gives communities a rare opportunity to review their activities and to celebrate shared successes.

2 The main competition looked at a number of key categories covering aspects of village life in the 21st century - Building Community Life; Business; Young People; Older People; Environment; Information Communications Technology.

The Special Project Award was optional. Villages could enter this category without entering the main competition.

3 The competition is organised in Cambridgeshire by Cllr Hazel Williams, who is Deputy Chair of Cambridgeshire ACRE. Judges included representatives from the Cambridgeshire ACRE board of trustees and CPRE.

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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