Press Archive

14 Villages in line for title of 2005 Cambridgeshire Village of the Year

Fourteen villages are in line for prizes in this year’s Cambridgeshire Village of the Year competition. Initial assessment of the entries received has already taken place and judging visits to the 14 shortlisted villages will take place during July.

The competition judges communities on various aspects of village life with categories in Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and (judged separately) Information Communication Technology (ICT). District winners will each receive £250, with category winners receiving £100. There is also a ‘Special Project Award’ of £200 available for villages or voluntary organisations which have completed a unique, ‘one-off’ project within the last 12 months. The ICT category can also be entered as a stand-alone competition by villages which do not wish to enter the main competition. The closing date for submissions to the ICT category is Monday 29th August 2005.

Competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year has led to the availability of increased prize money for villages entering the competition. Defra is providing additional funding in 2005 at both county and national level to enhance the newly established Building Community Life category. This has led to the provision of three additional cash prizes for successful villages in the Building Community Life section of Cambridgeshire’s competition, which is being run alongside the main competition, of £250, £150 and £100.

The shortlisted villages in the 2005 Cambridgeshire Village of the Year competition are as follows –

East Cambridgeshire:

Dullingham

Fenland:

Gorefield, Parson Drove

Huntingdonshire:

Abbotsley, Hilton, Holme, Ramsey Forty Foot, Sawtry, Upwood and the Raveleys, Warboys

Peterborough:

Castor and Ailsworth

South Cambridgeshire:

Fulbourn, Horningsea, Pampisford

The competition is run by Cambridgeshire ACRE with sponsorship provided by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Later in the year, the overall winner and Cambridgeshire Village of the Year will have the opportunity to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious national 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.

Competition organiser, Helena Scott, commented: “The response to the competition has been good and we are impressed by the standard of entries received. I think the judges are going to have a tough time selecting the winners and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work and enthusiasm in judging the competition. I’d also like to wish the 14 shortlisted villages the very best of luck. Whether they actually win a prize or not, all of them have already proved themselves as vibrant and caring communities and they are all winners.”

Further information regarding the competition is available from Helena Scott at Cambridgeshire ACRE on 01353 860850, email helena.scott@cambsacre.org.uk. The winning villages will be announced at a presentation event taking place on Thursday 8th September.

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