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Don't Miss Out on the Opportunity to 'Love Your Village' in 2007

If you’re particularly proud of your village and you want celebrate all that it has to offer then now is the opportunity to do it with the launch of the 2007 ‘Love Your Village’ Calor Hampshire Village of the Year competition.

The competition, which launches on Tuesday 16th January, is open to all villages in Hampshire. It is organised by the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils (HAPTC) with sponsorship from Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Entry forms are available to download from www.haptc.org or can be requested from the competition coordinator Steven Lugg at St Thomas’ Centre, 20 Southgate Street, Winchester SO23 9EF.

Entries are invited from any organisation within a village and entrants are judged on six categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). There is a £300 prize on offer for the overall winning community along with a cast iron plaque which can be displayed in the village. In addition to the main competition, there is also a ‘Best Small Village’ category and a ‘Best in District/Borough’ category, which is so far being supported by Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council, East Hampshire District Council and Winchester City Council.

Competition co-ordinator Steven Lugg is looking forward to a good response from villages this year. He commented: “Previous entrants are unanimous in telling me there have been benefits for the community as a result of taking part. Entering the competition is easy and provides an opportunity to audit services and activities, to bring people together in a celebration of all that’s happening as well as offering a chance to raise the profile of the community. Any organisation can enter on behalf of the village and I hope to see some new faces in 2007!”

Later in the year the overall winner in Hampshire will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year® for England competition 2007/8. This will give them the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of a prize fund totalling more than £36,000. The county’s nominee to the 2006/7 national competition, the East Hampshire village of Selborne, has already submitted its written entry and is now preparing for a visit from competition judges during April.

For further information and entry forms please contact Steven Lugg on 01962 841699, email steven.lugg@hants.gov.uk or visit www.haptc.org. The deadline for entries is April 23rd with judging taking place during May, June and July. Presentations to winning villages will take place at the Association’s AGM during October.

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Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, 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 competition.

The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, now in its eleventh 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. Every year, Calor sponsors the majority of the county village competitions – which this year total more than 40 – each of which is invited to nominate one village to take part in the 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 2007 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 support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 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 competition:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org, tel: 01962 629768, or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

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