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Oxfordshire's Top Villages Revealed

The villages of Filkins & Broughton Poggs and Cholsey are celebrating after being revealed as the top villages in Oxfordshire following their participation in the 2006 Calor Oxfordshire Villages of the Year competition.

The competition is organised by Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Participating villages were judged on various aspects of village life including Building Community Life, Business, Environment, Affordable Housing and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The full results of the competition and details of prize allocation are as follows:

Small Village Winner: Filkins & Broughton Poggs (£250)
Large Village Winner: Cholsey (£250)

Building Community Life Winners

Filkins & Broughton Poggs (£250)
Cholsey (£250)

District Winners ( £250 each)

Vale District Small Village: Appleford, Large Village: Blewbury
South District Small Village: Checkendon, Large Village: Brightwell cum Sotwell
Cherwell District Small Village: Islip, Large Village: Deddington
West District Small Village: Cassington Large Village: Shipton under Wychwood

Runners Up (£100 each)

Cropredy
Steeple Aston
Wendlebury
Kennington
Stanford in the Vale
Steeple Barton

Affordable Housing Winner

Freeland (£250)

Business Winner

Sutton Courtenay (£100)

ICT Winner

Appleford (£100)

Environment Winners

Blewbury (£100)
Stanford in the Vale (£100)
Stonesfield (£75 Waitrose vouchers and Waterperry Gardens Ltd apple juice for their Coffee Shop and Drop-In Centre)
Duns Tew (ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) voucher and £25 White Horse Turf and Landscape Supplies voucher for their playground and young people)

Prize money has been donated by Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership, Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment Ltd, The Elizabeth Brunner Award, Oxfordshire County Council, Vale Strategic Partnership, South Oxfordshire District Council, Cherwell District Council and the European Community West Oxfordshire Network LEADER+ 2000-2006 Programme. The £500 Building Community Life prize money has been made available thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for this category at both county and national level.

Judges commented: “All of the winning villages clearly had well developed activities; lots of committed people and were able to showcase their villages well. During the judging process we were looking for communities that are inclusive, with good community spirit, where residents are listened to and there is a sense of innovation. Our congratulations go to all the successful villages and we look forward to celebrating with them at the awards evening on October 18th.”

The village of Filkins & Broughton Poggs has the added 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. Filkins & Broughton Poggs will initially be representing Oxfordshire in the South England region of the competition against villages from Dorset, Hampshire, Kent, Isle of Wight, Sussex and Surrey.

For further information regarding the Calor Oxfordshire Villages of the Year competition, please contact Oxfordshire Rural Community Council on 01865 883488, email orcc@oxonrcc.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 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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