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Time is Running Out For Northants Villages

Time is running out for Northamptonshire villages that want to enter the 2007 Calor Northamptonshire Village of the Year competition with the deadline for entries quickly approaching. Entry forms for the competition went out to villages back in January encouraging them to enter and they have until March 30 to send them in.

The competition is organised by Northamptonshire ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) with sponsorship provided by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Competition organiser, Anne Millar commented: “I want to encourage as many villages as possible to get involved this year, particularly those that haven’t taken part in the competition before. We’re not looking for ‘perfect’ villages so don’t be afraid to have a go. Entering the competition can be a very positive activity for a community because often villages don’t realise just how much they’ve got going on until they actually put it down on paper. The closing date is approaching, but there is still plenty of time for villages to enter if they act now.”

Entries are invited from any representative group within a village and entrants are judged on seven categories covering Village Life, Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Technology (IT). For judging purposes, competing villages will be split into small (under 500), medium (500 – 1,499) and large (1,500 – 5,000) sections. Prizes are on offer to the winning villages in each section and, new for 2007, there is a Best Newcomer award on offer to a village that has not competed in the competition since it changed in 2005.

Later in the year the overall winner in Northamptonshire 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, Geddington, has already submitted its written entry and is now preparing for a visit from competition judges during April.

For further information and entry forms please contact Anne Millar on 01604 825885, or email anne.millar@northantsacre.org.uk

For general information about Calor Village of the Year® visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.

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Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4200, 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 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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