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Celebration Time for Essex Villages

A village in north-west Essex which has led the way in providing affordable housing to meet the needs of local people is celebrating after claiming the top prize in this year's Calor Essex Village of the Year and Best Kept Village Competition.

Ashdon, last year's runners-up, beat off a strong challenge from near neighbours Helions Bumpstead , to clinch the prestigious Essex Village of the Year award. In addition to receiving a prize of £500, they will also have the honour of representing Essex in the high profile Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The competition, organised annually by Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) and sponsored by liquefied petroleum gas supplier Calor, also honours a raft of Best Kept Village winners. Ashdon was again among the major prize winners here, joining Danbury , Theydon Bois, Hempstead and Messing in winning its particular class. All prize winners received their awards at RCCE's Annual General Meeting on 11 th July where Jeff Penfold of Calor presented the prizes.

RCCE Director, Nick Shuttleworth, paid tribute to Ashdon, which has a population of just over 800:

"The lack of affordable housing is a major problem for all rural communities, but Ashdon was one of the first villages in the country to address this issue and now provides a total of 46 homes specifically for local needs. It also secured a remarkable 90% participation rate in its new Parish Plan, and offers an incredible diversity of clubs, events and activities to satisfy the needs of every section of the community. Ashdon is also proud of its heritage; it runs its own village museum, and local volunteers also recently raised £150,000 to complete the restoration of its historic windmill."

He went on: "Helions Bumpstead, with a population of less than 500, also deserves immense credit. A Parish Plan has provided the spur for a range of new initiatives for young people, including a BMX track and a mobile youth service. The village green and village hall have also been thoroughly refurbished, with the hall now staging its own farmers market."

Third place in the Essex Village of the Year competition went to the village of Wickham Bishops , in Maldon district, which has recently completed the construction of a magnificent new village hall, as well as a range of new sports facilities.

Nick Shuttleworth paid tribute to all this year's winning villages:

"This competition demonstrates all that is good about rural life in Essex . Our judges were enormously impressed by the enterprise, commitment and sheer hard work of the dedicated volunteers who do so much for our rural communities."

Rural Community Council of Essex is a registered charity which promotes community projects throughout rural Essex and acts as a voice for rural people on key issues.

Further information from Nick Shuttleworth on 0844 4773938 or e-mail; nick.shuttleworth@essexrcc.org.uk

Ends

Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4221, 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 to 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 or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For all media enquiries relating the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Emma Flinn:
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk or tel: 0161 817 4221

For all general enquiries relating to the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Brian Challis: email: b.challis@ntlworld.com or tel: 01962 629768

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