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Could your Community be Hertfordshire's Village of the Year 2006?

Do you want to lead the way in establishing your village as a role model for others? Does your village buzz with community spirit? Are you proud of what your village offers residents and visitors alike? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ then you should consider entering your community in the 2006 Hertfordshire Village of the Year competition.

The competition, organised by the CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society and sponsored by Calor in association with Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire Mercury, looks 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. Six aspects of village life are judged with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and, judged separately, Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Information and entry forms have been sent out to parish councils and community organisations throughout the county encouraging them to take part. Any village with a population of up to 5,000 is eligible to enter and villages can enter as many or as few of the competition’s six categories as they wish; however, to win the Village of the Year East or West trophy, villages will have to enter all categories and perform at a consistently high standard throughout. Cash prizes and plaques are on offer to the winners of all six categories, including £500 prize money specifically for the Building Community Life category, which has been made available thanks to continued competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) at both county and national level.

In addition, the 2006 Hertfordshire Village of the Year will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, with the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as following the examples of last year’s Hertfordshire nominees, Potten End (Hertfordshire Village of the Year 2006) and Redbourn (ICT nominee), who each won a regional prize of £500 from the £36,000 prize fund.

Competition organiser on behalf of CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society, Jo Simson, commented: “This is not a competition about perfect villages – it’s about communities working hard to make life for residents as good as it can be, in whatever ways possible. If you enter your village you will have the opportunity to highlight and celebrate what has been achieved, both within the community and to a wider audience. Getting together for an activity such as this can also be a great way of reinvigorating the village, and may even prompt you to look at ways in which your community can be further enhanced. I can’t stress enough what a positive activity entering the competition can be, and I want as many villages to benefit as possible.”

Entries to the competition are invited from all villages in Hertfordshire with a population of fewer than 5,000. For further information regarding the competition contact Jo Simson on 01438 717587, email jo@cpreherts.org.uk, or refer to the CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society website (www.cpreherts.org.uk). The deadline for entries is April 27th with judging visits taking place during June. The winners will be announced at an awards evening at the County Hall, Hertford on June 29th and the Village of the Year East and West trophies will be presented on July 22nd.

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Amaze plc
tel: 01223 845781 (direct) / 0161 817 4200 (main office)
email: e.flinn@amaze.com

Notes to Editors:

CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society

1. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society’s principal aim is to safeguard the natural environment of the county, especially the Green Belt and other protected areas. It also seeks to maintain the built environment, particularly historic settlements and buildings. The President is the Lord Lieutenant, Simon Bowes Lyon. CPRE - The Hertfordshire Society has 1,450 members and is growing.

2. CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society is the County Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). This national charity exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. It has 57,000 supporters countrywide and is open to all.

3. Further information on CPRE – The Hertfordshire Society Village of the Year Competition can be obtained from Jo Simson on 01438 717587 or email office@cpreherts.org.uk

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 £36,000. First prize is £6,000 with £1,500 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