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County's Top Villages Revealed

The villages of Coinstantine and Cawsand/Kingsand are celebrating after being revealed as winners in Cornwall’s 2006 Calor Cornwall Village of the Year competition.

The competition was organised by Cornwall Rural Community Council (CRCC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). A total of nine villages entered the competition and they were judged on six categories covering Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Constantine is the overall winner of the competition, gaining the prestigious title of Calor Cornwall Village of the Year 2006. The village also has the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the 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. For judging purposes, Constantine will initially be representing Cornwall in the West England region of the competition against villages from Avonside, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

Cawsand/Kingsand is the winner in the Building Community Life category of the county competition which is supported by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Representatives of both villages will be presented with their prizes and framed commemorative certificates at an awards ceremony taking place on Friday 20th October at Kingsley Village Hall, Fraddon.

Peter Burton, CRCC’s Head of Community Planning and Development, who helped to judge the competition said: “I was impressed by the amount of effort that the entrants put into ensuring the judges’ visit was both informative and enjoyable. We learnt so much about how these villages function and, despite having over 14 year’s worth of hands-on experience of working with Cornish communities, I was amazed at the sheer diversity of groups and activities that exist out there. The places we visited are rightly proud of their achievements and of their individual community identities and I hope that more villages will be encouraged to enter next year’s competition.”

For further information regarding the Calor Cornwall Village of the Year competition please contact Sharon Davey at Cornwall Rural Community Council on 01209 614950.

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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:

Cornwall Rural Community Council (CRCC)

CRCC – We are a local charitable company working for communities and the voluntary sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. A long-established local charity providing friendly, personal advice and on-going support to groups and individuals both from our offices and through face-to-face visits. In this way, we assist communities and volunteers to realise their potential and improve local conditions

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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