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Selbourne
ICT Award for Selborne in 2005 Calor Village of the Year^® for England Competition

The Hampshire village of Selborne has been awarded the top Information Communication Technology (ICT) prize in this year’s Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition.

The village’s success was revealed by guest of honour, celebrity author and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, at an awards ceremony held on Tuesday 6th December in London. Selborne was competing against a total of 28 other villages throughout England, nominated to represent their respective counties in the ICT section of this prestigious event, which is judged separately from the rest of the competition.

Selborne initially carried off a regional category prize for ICT before being announced as the overall winner, receiving prize money totalling £1,500. It beat off competition from four other winning villages in the ICT category to secure the award: Wray, Lancashire; Helmdon, Northamptonshire; Redbourn, Hertfordshire; and Aldbourne, Wiltshire.

The Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition is organised and funded by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It assesses communities on six aspects of village life with categories in building community life, business, young people, older people, the environment and, judged separately, information communication technology (ICT).

Alan Titchmarsh was joined by Calor’s managing director, Howard Kerr, to present representatives of Selborne with their prizes. Alan commented: “Rural communities are an essential part of the fabric of our country - they are the backbone of British life. It is for this reason that the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, which aims to support and promote village life, is such a positive event and something which I am happy to support. The competition highlights the very best of village life, encouraging villagers to work together to the benefit of all residents. More importantly, it provides a forum for communities to share best practice and encourages them to address any problems or opportunities that become apparent following their involvement in the competition.”

The competition 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 ICT section of the competition is judged by UKVillages.co.uk. Selborne, which was nominated to take part in the competition by Community Action Hampshire, has embraced the many facets of ICT, from website to wireless network, and is using ICT to support all generations of the community. Ellie Stoneley of UKVillages commented: “This pro-active and thoughtful community has an informative and well used website which offers superb access to community information as well as a well structured local diary and village hall booking system. Selborne uses technology in some very innovative ways, from the bat box webcam and the local e-history project to the cyber café run by volunteers. The village also has a tremendously sensible approach to sourcing funding and generating revenue for local projects, all of which is demonstrated via the website (www.selborne.net).”

Calor’s managing director, Howard Kerr, commented: “Feedback from villages over the years confirms how those entering the Calor Village of the Year^® competition are amazed at the richness of community life that is revealed as they go forward. The 2005 competition has once again highlighted some extraordinary communities across England as well as some great examples of how villages are working to achieve a better quality of life for residents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every village that has taken part this year and congratulate them on their achievements, whether they have won a prize or not.

“The Calor Village of the Year^® competition has been supporting rural communities for nine years and many villages have benefited from taking part – either at county or national level. As the competition reaches its 10th anniversary, we are confident that villages will continue to benefit in the future. Thanks must also go to Alan for his continued support, which is sure to raise the profile of the competition and spread the message to even more communities.”

For more information on the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition visit the website (www.calorvillageoftheyear.org) or call Calor on 01962 629768.

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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd

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email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk