Search Begins for England’s Calor Village of the Year®

Is your village a winner?

Villages the length and breadth of England are bubbling with excitement as the 2008 search has begun for England 's Calor Village of the Year. The highly acclaimed competition is now in its twelfth year and more prevalent than ever.

The title is an enormous achievement and year after year, villages work and compete together resulting in tight knit communities that are proud of being a team. Application to the competition is simple, and entry packs have been sent to England 's county villages inviting them to enter through their own 'local' county competition organisers. The winners will be sharing over £40,000 in prizes.

Calor Village of the Year® Counties include:

North England: Cheshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire, Lancashire & Merseyside, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Yorkshire (North, South & West)

South England: Dorset, West Sussex, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey

East England: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk

West England: Avonside, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

Central England: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire

In 2007 c.1000 rural villages entered the competition, which is designed to promote community involvement in village life with the added 'spice' of friendly competition. Calor Village of the Year® competition manager, Suzanne Weir commented: "Last year's awards proved to be one of the highest supported eventsin the history of the competition, and standards were exceptionally high. To experience first hand the positive effects the competition has on village communities makes my day to day role completely rewarding. This year we are encouraging even more villages to get involved and the great news is that we have been able to increase the prize money over the whole competition."

Later in 2008, winning county villages can gain the additional honour of representing their county in the prestigious national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition 2008/9. This will give that village the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of national prize money.

First prize in the national English competition is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of the five regional winners. In addition, there are four category prizes of £500 within each region (covering People, Business, Environment and Communications). The 2007/8 county nominees in the national competition are currently preparing for a visit from competition judges.

For further information about the Calor Village of the Year® Competition please call Brian Challis on 01962 629768 or email info@calorvillageoftheyear.org . For media enquiries, please call Emma Flinn on 0161 817 4221

Notes to Editors

Calor Village of the Year®

Calor, the leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to those living and working in the countryside, has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales for 21 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, now in its twelfth year, was founded and developed by Calor, and is organised and funded by the company on an annual basis.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

Entry to the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition is through the existing county competition network. Every year, Calor sponsors the majority of the county village competitions – which this year total more than 40 – each of which is invited to nominate one village to take part in the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The national Calor Village of the Year® 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 prize money for the 2008 national Calor Village of the Year® competitions stands at over £40,000. First prize in the English competition is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are four category prizes of £500 within each region (covering People, Business, Environment and Communications).