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Hunt is on for Hertfordshire's Top Village

Hertfordshire villages are being called upon to enter the 2007 Hertfordshire Village of the Year competition which is launching on January 29th.

The competition is organised by CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society with sponsorship from Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), in association with local sponsors Hertfordshire County Council and The Hertfordshire Mercury.

Entrants are judged on six categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Prizes of £100 cash, a Calor certificate and a CPRE plaque are on offer to the category winners, with an additional prize of a Nazeing Glass Rosebowl for the Environment winner. One village from East Hertfordshire and one from West Hertfordshire will be selected as the overall winner for their area, receiving £250 cash, a Calor certificate and a CPRE plaque. The East Hertfordshire cash prize is provided by The Hertfordshire Mercury. A Small Village of the Year will also be selected with an award of £100 cash, a Rosebowl, a Calor certificate and CPRE plaque. Finally, new for 2007 is the Best Kept Village prize – a tree donated and planted by Majestic Trees of Flamstead, with a runner up prize of a planter made from recycled carrier bags, donated by Waitrose Welwyn Garden City.

Villages can enter as many or as few of the competition’s six categories as they wish; however, to win the Village of the Year East or West trophy, villages will have to enter all categories and perform at a consistently high standard throughout.

Competition co-ordinator Jo Simson is looking forward to a good response from villages this year. She commented: “We have more prizes than ever before on offer this year so I really hope this will encourage as many villages as possible to give the competition a go. I’d particularly like to see some new villages coming in, or hear again from communities that haven’t entered the competition for a few years. Many entrants tell me they are amazed at the benefits for the community as a result of taking part. Entering the competition is easy and provides an opportunity to audit services and activities and bring people together in a celebration of all that’s happening as well as offering a chance to raise the profile of the community.”

Later in the year the village crowned the 2007 Hertfordshire Village of the Year 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, Ickleford, has already submitted its written entry and is now preparing for a visit from competition judges during April.

All villages in Hertfordshire should receive an invitation to enter this week. For further information regarding the competition, or an entry pack, contact Jo Simson on 01438 717587, email jo@cpreherts.org.uk, or refer to the CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society website (www.cpreherts.org.uk). The deadline for entries is May 3rd with judging visits taking place during June. The winners will be announced at an awards evening at the County Hall, Hertford on June 28th and the Village of the Year East and West trophies will be presented on July 21st.

Ends

Further press information available from: Tracy Nuttall, Helen Jones or Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4200, email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society

1. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society’s principal aim is to safeguard the natural environment of the county, especially the Green Belt and other protected areas. It also seeks to maintain the built environment, particularly historic settlements and buildings. The President is the Lord Lieutenant, Sir Simon Bowes Lyon, KCVO. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society has 1,450 members and is growing.

2. CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society is the County Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). This national charity exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. It has 57,000 supporters countrywide and is open to all.

3. Further information on CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society Village of the Year Competition can be obtained from Jo Simson on 01438 717587 or email jo@cpreherts.org.uk.

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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