Stop Press

Villages Compete For County Glory

The villages of Clapham, Bolnhurst and Keysoe, Bletsoe and Caddington are one step closer to gaining county glory, having been shortlisted for judging visits in the 2007 Calor Bedfordshire Village of the Year competition.

The competition is organised by Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC) and sponsored by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Entrants are being judged on various aspects of rural village life with categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Competition co-ordinator, Jemma McDonald commented: “We were extremely pleased with both the number and standard of entries received, and the judges had a difficult time compiling their shortlists. We have some very strong contenders competing this year, so we’re really looking forward to meeting the communities and seeing the villages firsthand. 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.”

The judging visits are due to take place during the week of June 25. There are generous cash prizes on offer for the winners along with a cast iron plaque which can be displayed in the winning community. Presentations to winning villages will take place at BRCC’s AGM during September.

In addition, the overall winner 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, Henlow, has already been visited by competition judges and will find out if it’s been awarded any prizes in the competition during October.

For further information regarding the Calor Bedfordshire Village of the Year competition, please contact Jemma McDonald on 01234 832617, email jemmam@bedsrcc.org.uk.

Ends

Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4221, email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.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 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

Click here to download this press release in Word format