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Isle of Wight's Top Villages Revealed

The winning villages in the 2007 Calor Isle of Wight Village of the Year competition, organised by the Isle of Wight Rural Community Council (IWRCC), have been revealed at an awards event held at the Quay Arts Centre, Newport on the evening of Thursday 19 th July.

The competition is sponsored by Calor - the UK's leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), with local support from Island 2000, Isle of Wight County Press, Arc Environmental Services and Goddards Brewery . A total of three villages were visited by competition judges who were judging the communities across six categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The village of Northwood has been revealed as the overall winner of the competition, gaining the prestigious title of Calor Isle of Wight Village of the Year for 2007

The full results of the competition are as follows:

Community Life - Northwood

(£300 sponsored by Island 2000)

Business - Calbourne

(£250 Goddards Brewery)

Young People - Northwood

(£300 Isle of Wight County Press)

Older People - Calbourne

(£150 Staples Vouchers)

Environment - Northwood

(£300 Arc Environmental Services)

ICT - Northwood

(£150 Staples Vouchers)

Overall winner Northwood

Overall highly commended Yarmouth

Brian Challis representing Calor presented representatives of the winning villages with their prizes which included framed commemorative certificates.

Competition organiser on behalf of the Isle of Wight RCC, Janet Short commented: "Despite the appalling weather on judging day, the three villages we visited demonstrated their enthusiasm and commitment to the communities they were representing. The quality of their presentations was excellent which made it very difficult for the judges to separate them and find an overall winner. This competition brings people together, highlights achievement and provides a pathway for the future, which is so positive because we need to celebrate village life and acknowledge the good work that communities do for the benefit of everybody to enjoy."

As the 2007 Calor Isle of Wight Village of the Year, Northwood will now go forward and represent their 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.

Janet Short added: "We wish Northwood the best of luck in the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition. They are an outstanding community and did exceptionally well in the county competition. We are sure that this success can be replicated at national level."

Also honoured at the Calor Isle of Wight Village of the Year awards event was the village of Brighstone. Brighstone was the county's nominee to the 2006/7 national competition and has been awarded a regional category award for Young People in the South England region. Representatives of the village attended the county event to receive a framed commemorative certificate and £500 prize money.

For further information regarding the Calor Isle of Wight Village of the Year competition, please contact the RCC offices on 01983 524058. For further general information regarding Calor Village of the Year® and the national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition please go to www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.

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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