Press Archive

Villages Urged to be Pro-Active

Villages are being reminded that if they want to enter this year’s Herefordshire Village of the Year competition, they need to act fast to get an entry in before the closing date of 29th April.

Information went out to villages across the county during January, and competition organiser on behalf of Community First, Nina Owen, is urging communities to be pro-active. She commented: “The entry process is very easy - there is just a simple community profile for each village to fill in and return to Community First. You can download it from our website (Go to www.communityhw.org.uk and click on Projects, then Village of the Year) or call us for a copy. Anyone can fill it in, provided it is counter-signed by a village committee such as the village hall or parish council.”

The competition, which is sponsored by Calor - the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), judges communities on six aspects of village life with categories in Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology. Nina Owen added: “Thanks to competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year, we have £500 prize money which will be distributed amongst a number of successful villages in the Building Community Life category. Whilst the prize money is certainly not the only benefit of taking part, I do hope that the possibility of winning a substantial cash award will motivate villagers to get together an entry!”

Later in the year, one village will also have the opportunity of following in the footsteps of Longtown in 2004 and gaining recognition at national level in the prestigious English Calor Village of the Year^® competition, which this year has a prize fund of over £36,000. Nina Owen concluded: “I can’t stress enough what a positive experience taking part in the competition at any level can be, and I want as many of the county’s villages to benefit as possible.”

For further information or entry forms contact Nina Owen or Andrea Cooper at Community First by email at ninao@communityhw.org.uk, or by telephoning 01684 573334. The deadline for entries is 29th April and a number of shortlisted villages will be visited by judges in May/June. The overall winner and Herefordshire Villages of the Year will be announced at the end of June, and a formal presentation event will take place later in the year.

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd tel: 0161 817 4200 email: e.flinn@amaze.com