About the Competition

Calor have been supplying the countryside with gas in cylinders and bulk tanks for over seventy years. The Calor Village of the Year competition is our way of supporting customers in rural communities and encouraging rural sustainability.

Over 1,000 villages enter the competition each year and not only have a great deal of fun preparing an entry but also reap real benefits from working together to engender a real sense of community spirit. It's a great way to give your village an MOT.

Since it began in 1997 over 400 villages have gone through the national judging process. Each one, win or lose, has gained enormous benefit from the experience. A typical comment from participating villages, echoing a common theme has been, ‘We didn’t realise so much went on. Taking part has helped us revitalise our community.’

How Villages Enter

Entry to the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition is through a network of county competitions and competing villages must not have a population of more than 5,000.

All county competition organisers in England then nominate a village to represent their county in the national competition. In most cases the nominated village will be the village that won the county competition.

PLEASE NOTE:  ENTRIES TO THE 2008/2009 COMPETITION ARE NOW CLOSED

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.

See our step-by-step guide to help you assess the potential of your own village in the county competition. The guide details all competition categories as well as the judging criteria - it's an ideal way to evaluate your village's strengths and weaknesses.

The Categories

The competition is not about pretty window boxes and the village green. The entry categories cover a variety of community issues from contribution to the village's young people, to the environment and the elderly.

The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition judges communities on a total of four categories - Community, Business, Sustainability and Communications.

The image on the right shows how one community, Ipstones in Staffordshire, chose to present itself to the Calor Village of the Year® judges. The 'Happy Ippy' tree bears on its branches the various elements of the village which add up to a caring community.
Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

The Prizes

Prizes are awarded to regional category winners, overall regional
winners and an overall winner for England. A number of overall category prizes are also available.

More Information

If you have any questions about anything to do with the competition, why not take a look at our helpful Frequently Asked Questions page?

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.

To discuss entering a village, please contact your local organiser.