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Search Begins For Top Villages in Warwickshire

If you’re particularly proud of your village and you want to celebrate all that it has to offer then why not consider entering the 2007 Calor Warwickshire Village of the Year competition?

The competition is organised by Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC) with sponsorship provided by Calor – the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Entries are invited from any organisation within a village and entrants are judged on six categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Villages with a population of 5,000 and under are invited to enter and the deadline for entries is May 30.

Later in the year the village crowned the 2007 Calor Warwickshire Village of the Year 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, Bidford-on-Avon, has already submitted its written entry and is now preparing for a visit from competition judges during April.

Running alongside the Calor Village of the Year competition in Warwickshire are the annual Best Kept Village and Best Kept Churchyard competitions, focusing on community spirit and celebrating communities pulling together to look after the environment in which they live. The closing date for these competitions is April 30 and judging will take place during June and July with presentation ceremonies in the winning villages on Saturday 29 September. In addition, Warwickshire’s Village Ventures competition celebrates and rewards voluntary initiatives in rural communities across the county and winners receive a monetary prize. It is open to specific projects, run by volunteers, for the benefit of the community and the judges particularly welcome innovative and inclusive projects. Each year there is a huge variety of entries, including parish plans, newsletters, developments of village halls and recreation facilities, books of local interest, websites and films. The closing date for this competition is April 1st.

WRCC is looking forward to a good response from villages to this year’s competitions. Competitions organiser Ariadne Uslu commented: “Warwickshire villages have always responded positively to the competitions, but we hope that entry levels will be up in 2007. Entering the competitions is easy and provides an opportunity to audit services and activities, to bring people together in a celebration of all that’s happening as well as offering a chance to raise the profile of the community. We look forward to seeing some new faces in 2007 as well as those villages that have entered in previous years.”

To request further information and entry forms for the Calor Warwickshire Village of the Year competition, the Best Kept Village and Churchyard competitions and Village Ventures, please contact Ariadne Uslu at WRCC on 02476 217390, email ariadneu@wrccrural.org.uk.

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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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