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48 Villages enter 2005 Best Kept Village & Village of the Year Competitions in Bucks

A total of 48 villages are in line for prizes in this year’s Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village and Village of the Year competitions.

Entry totals for both competitions are up on last year and a number of villages have entered either for the first time or after a break of a year or two. Competition chairman, Richard Pushman, is confident that entries are of a high standard. He commented: “Every year I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of the entries we receive. I think that our judges are going to have a tough time choosing the winners yet again this year.”

The Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village and Village of the Year competitions are run by the Bucks Association of Local Councils. They are sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with additional support from the County Council, Milton Keynes Council and District Councils from Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe. Competition support from Defra (Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs) this year has also led to the provision of £500 additional prize money for villages in the Building Community Life category of the Buckinghamshire Village of the Year competition.

Judging for both competitions commences on 28th May, continuing throughout June until 3rd July. The winning villages will be announced by the end of July and a formal presentation event will take place on 24th September. Villages that have entered the Best Kept Village competition are as follows –

Aston Abbots, Bishopstone, Buckingham, Castlethorpe, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter, Cheddington, Chenies, Coleshill, Cuddington, Dorney, Downley, Frieth, Fulmer, Great Brickhill, Great Kingshill, Haddenham, Halton, Hazlemere, Hedgerley, Holmer Green, Hyde, Heath, Little Kingshill, Little Marlow, Little Missenden, Long Crendon, Loudwater, Marlow, Marsh Gibbon, Monks Risborough, Mursley, Naphill, North Crawley, North Marston, Olney, Padbury, Princes Risborough, Seer Green, Stewkley, Stoke Goldington, Stoke Mandeville, Stokenchurch, Stone, Tingewick, Weston Turville, Weston Underwood, Widmer End and Woburn Sands.

Of these, the following have also entered the Buckinghamshire Village of the Year competition: Cheddington, Downley, Great Kingshill, Haddenham, Halton, Long Crendon, Naphill, North Crawley, Olney, Stoke Goldington, Stokenchurch, Weston Underwood and Widmer End.

Later in the year, one village will also have the opportunity of following in the footsteps of Coleshill in 2004 or Long Crendon in 2003 and gaining recognition at national level in the prestigious English Calor Village of the Year^® competition, which this year has a prize fund of over £36,000 and a top prize of £6,000.

Further information regarding the competitions is available from Bucks Association of Local Councils by email at balc@buckscc.gov.uk, or by telephoning 01296 383154.

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd
tel: 0161 817 4200 email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk