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Anticipation Builds for Village Contenders

Entrants to the 2007 Calor Surrey Village of the Year competition are waiting in anticipation to find out which of them will be revealed as the overall winner, with the awards presentation coming up on Saturday 14th July.

The competition was open to all villages throughout Surrey with a population of 5,000 and under, and a varied selection of villages have entered - both large and small.

The competition is organised by Surrey Community Action with sponsorship from Calor - the UK's leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Entrants are being assessed on various aspects of rural village life with categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Jean Roberts-Jones, Chief Executive of Surrey Community Action commented: " First indications are that we have some very strong contenders competing this year, so we're really looking forward to seeing how they fare during the judging process. Whether they go on to win prizes or not, they've all done very well and I would like to thank the communities for their hard work and commitment in putting together their entries."

Later in the year, one of the winning villages from Surrey will have the added honour of being nominated to 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. The county's nominee to the 2006/7 national competition, Lingfield, has already been visited by competition judges and will soon find out if it's been awarded any prizes in the competition.

Further information regarding the Calor Surrey Village of the Year competition is available from Anne Barry on 01483 459292 ext 216, email anneb@surreyca.org.uk or from the Surrey Community Action website - www.surreyca.org.uk.

Surrey Community Action is resourcing the voluntary and community sector across Surrey through access to advice, training, funding and advocacy. Surrey Community Action actively promotes volunteering and the details of local volunteer centres in Surrey are on our website www.surreyca.org.uk/vb.htm. Help is especially needed in health or as a school governor.

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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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