Press Archive

Devon Village of the Year Winners Revealed

The winning villages in the 2005 Devon Village of the Year competition have been revealed. A total of six villages were shortlisted for judging in the competition: two in South Devon, Harbertonford and Bittaford; two in East Devon, Yarcombe and Offwell; one in North Devon, Loxhore; and one near Exeter, Newton St Cyres. Judges spent time in each community over the summer months, trying to gain an insight into the villages and work out what makes them ‘tick’. Standards were high and choosing the winners was a difficult task; however, a decision was reached and the overall winner, gaining the prestigious title of Devon Village of the Year for 2005 is the East Devon village of Yarcombe.

The competition is run by the Community Council of Devon (CCD) with sponsorship provided by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Also, thanks to competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year, there is an extra £500 prize money in Devon’s Building Community Life section, which has been awarded to Yarcombe as the overall winner, along with the Jean Allen Memorial Cup which will be retained by the village for one year. The competition judges communities on six aspects of village life in total with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Judges commented on Yarcombe: “The community spirit in this village is indeed extraordinary. On arrival we were invited to visit the local public house, which had become very run down, but had been purchased quite recently by a young couple from Manchester. A restoration job was carried out with help freely given by local people, and a remarkable outcome was achieved in a very short time. We then visited the village hall and were greeted at the door by a handsome ram exemplifying Yarcombes agricultural base. Inside, the hall was full of exhibits and the room buzzing with enthusiasm for the village and its activities. Particularly impressive were the activities of the Young Farmers Club which seem to run activities every night of the week, and also representing the youth of the village was Sky (the Singing Kids of Yarcombe) in their distinctive uniform. The Churches are clearly ecumenically aware. It was a pleasure to visit a community which still has a strong agricultural base but also a strong employment base in other respects.”

As the overall winner of the competition and 2005 Devon Village of the Year, Yarcombe will now go forward to represent the county in the prestigious national English Calor Village of the Year^® competition with the opportunity of following in Kilmington’s footsteps last year and gaining recognition at national level. More than 40 villages across England will be competing in the competition, which has a total prize fund of £36,000 and a top prize of £6,000. Yarcombe will be representing Devon in the West England region of the competition against villages from Avonside, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

The village of Loxhore has also been recognised in Devon’s competition, and will receive £100 prize money as the runner-up. Loxhore was the smallest village the judges visited, but its size has no reflection on the vibrancy of this community. Although having only 144 persons on the electoral roll and 44 inhabitants under the age of 18, the range of activities enjoyed by the inhabitants of Loxhore is remarkable. The focal point is the village hall and it was there that the judges received an excellent but relaxed presentation in support of the village’s application.

Competition organiser on behalf of CCD, Rory Cunningham, commented: “Our congratulations go to all of the shortlisted villages in the competition. The judges really had a very difficult time choosing the winner and runner-up and standards were excellent. Of course we would particularly like to congratulate Yarcombe and Loxhore and look forward to celebrating with members of the community when they are presented with their prizes at CCD’s AGM in October. We would also like to wish Yarcombe the best of luck with the next stage of the competition. It’s a vibrant and enthusiastic community and we are sure they’ve got what it takes to do well at national level.”

For further information please Rory Cunningham at the Community Council of Devon by email at rory@devonrcc.org.uk, or by telephoning 01392 382535.

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