Press Release: November 2006
Ashover to Welcome Royal Visitors
The award winning village of Ashover, Derbyshire will be welcoming TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for a tour of the community on Friday 8th December.
Ashover was crowned the Calor Village of the Year® for England in 2005 as well as winning the Central England area of this year’s special Calor Village of the Year ‘Best of the Best’ awards which were run by Calor to celebrate the tenth year of the competition. The tour will cover various areas of this award winning community, culminating in the presentation of a plaque to commemorate the visit as well as Ashover’s past successes in the Calor Village of the Year® competition.
Suzanne Weir, Calor Village of the Year® manager, commented: “His Royal Highness has followed the progress of the Calor Village of the Year® competition for some time, having visited other past winning villages in both England and Wales. The purpose of the competition is to identify, celebrate and reward 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, and we are sure that examples of the very best of village life will be presented to Their Royal Highnesses during the tour of Ashover.”
After being welcomed to the village by a choir of children from the local primary school, Their Royal Highnesses will commence on a tour of the community. This will be concluded outside the Bassett Rooms when Their Royal Highnesses will be invited to unveil the commemorative plaque and switch on the village’s Christmas tree lights.
Suzanne Weir added: “We are delighted that TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be spending time in Ashover meeting members of the community and getting a sense of the qualities which won the village its national title in 2005 and that took it through to the final stages of this year’s 10th Anniversary Awards.
I hope that this continued support will encourage more and more communities to get involved in the competition in future years and help it go from strength to strength.”
For further information regarding the Calor Village of the Year® competition please contact Calor on 01962 629768, email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org
You can also refer to the competition website at www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.
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Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR, a Connectpoint Company
tel: 0161 817 4200 / email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk
Please note that this visit will be covered by a Royal Rota and passes can be obtained in the usual way.
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 20 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year® for England and Wales competitions and the Calor Scottish Community of the Year competition.
The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, now in its tenth 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.
Following competition support in 2005, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is once again providing Calor with additional funding in 2006 to enhance the community life element of the competition through the Building Community Life category. Defra’s special aim is to encourage the inclusion of all groups and individuals into the fabric of rural community life - building cohesive and mutually supportive communities. Defra’s involvement means that every village in England has the opportunity to enter the 2006 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 national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition alone stands at over £39,000. First prize is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are five category prizes of £500 within each region (covering Business, Environment, Care for Older People, Care for Young People and Information Communications Technology), and a prize of £750 for the winner of the Building Community Life category in each of the five regions. The five regional winners of the Information Communication Technology category are judged to find an overall winner, the award for which is £1,000. There is also, thanks to the Defra support, a prize of £2,000 for an overall Building Community Life winner, which is selected from the five regional winners.
For general information on the Calor Village of the Year® for England and Wales competitions:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org, tel: 01962 629768, or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org
For more information on the Calor Scottish Community of the Year competition:
visit: www.communityoftheyear.co.uk
For more information on Defra:
visit: www.defra.gov.uk or for information specific to rural affairs visit: www.defra.gov.uk/rural/default.htm
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