Press Archive

Best Village Winners Revealed

The winning villages in the 2005 Leicestershire & Rutland Best Village competition have been announced at an awards event held on Thursday 25th August.

A total of £5,500 prize money was presented to successful villages at the ceremony by Lady Gretton, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, and John Harrison of competition sponsor Calor. The event was hosted by the Leicester Mercury; the competition’s other main sponsor.

The full results of the competition are as follows –

Under 500

1st: North Kilworth

2nd Ashby Parva

501 -1000

1st: Frisby on the Wreake

2nd: Greetham

1000 – 2000

1st: Lubenham

2nd: Huncote

2001 – 5000

1st: Markfield

2nd: Woodhouse & Woodhouse Eaves

5001 – 10000

1st: Barrow upon Soar

Building Community Life

Joint 1st: Frisby on the Wreake, Markfield

Col John Heggs Best Village Hall

Joint 1st: Frisby on the Wreake, Sharnford

Village Venture

1st: Frisby on the Wreake

2nd: Hallaton

Use of Information Technology

1st: Thurnby & Bushby

2nd: North Kilworth

Young People

1st: Markfield

2nd: Billesdon

Older People

1st: Barrow upon Soar

2nd: Huncote

Business

1st: Greetham

2nd: Billesdon

Anthony Stuart Memorial Prize

Medbourne

Leicester Mercury Special Prize

Barrowden

First prizes of £300 and second prizes of £100 were awarded in each of the categories, apart from the Building Community Life category and Best Village Hall category, which awarded a £500 prize for the winner and £150 for the runner up. This additional prize money is thanks, in part, to Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), which is providing additional funding at both county and national level to enhance the newly established Building Community Life category.

Competition organiser on behalf of the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland), Diana Cook, commented: “The standard of the entries this year has been very good and the communities have put a lot of effort into the competition. The amount of activity going on in villages across Leicestershire & Rutland is remarkable. Judges have picked up on some great community activity and have had the privilege of visiting some very well integrated communities which are working hard to get all residents involved in village life. I am pleased that the new format of the competition has proved so successful in its first year. A good standard has been set for future years and I think the competition can only go from strength to strength.”

The villages of Frisby on the Wreake, Leicestershire and Barrowden, Rutland will now also go forward to represent the counties in the prestigious national English Calor Village of the Year competition^® with Thurnby and Bushby representing Leicestershire and Market Overton representing Rutland in the Information Communication Technology section of the competition. There is a total of £36,000 on offer for successful villages in the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, with a top prize of £6,000. Frisby on the Wreake, Barrowden, Thurnby and Bushby, and Market Overton will be competing in the Central England region of the competition, against villages from Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.

Diana Cook added: “We wish Frisby on the Wreake, Barrowden, Thurnby and Bushby, and Market Overton the best of luck in the next stage of the competition. They are all great communities and stand to do really well at national level.”

Further information on the Leicestershire & Rutland Best Village competition is available from Diana Cook at the Rural Community Council by email at dcook@ruralcc.org.uk, or by telephone on 0116 2689706.

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd
tel: 01223 845781 (direct) / 0161 817 4200 (main office)
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk