Press Archive

Building Community Life in Lancashire

All villages in Lancashire are being offered the opportunity to participate in a new competition this year. Information and entry forms have gone out to villages across the county to encourage them to enter the newly established Calor Building Community Life competition.

The competition is being run by the Lancashire Association of Parish and Town Councils (LAPTC). Competition organiser, Marion Gelder, is hoping to receive a good response from villages to the new competition: “We are really excited about this competition. It is hoped that the prize money will encourage villages to get involved. However, I must stress that, although that’s certainly one of the benefits of entering, it is by no means the only reason villages should take part.”

Lancashire’s competition, which is offering prizes of £500, £250 and £100 for three successful villages, has been launched following support for the Calor Building Community Life competition from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Defra is providing funding in 2005 at both county and national level to enhance the newly established Building Community Life category.

A total of £500 prize money is being provided by Defra for the Lancashire Building Community Life competition. The additional prize money is being provided from LAPTC’s own funds. The Building Community Life entry form consists of 14 questions covering many aspects of a village’s community life, from the networks available in a community to support people in need, to the range of activities that goes on in the village hall or oth^®er village centre. Marion Gelder added: “We know this will get residents working together and encourage them to look at how everyone within the community is being provided for. It’s an opportunity for them to celebrate all the positive aspects of life in their village and to consider any issues or opportunities that become apparent following their involvement in the competition.”

Following on from this competition, later in the year one village in Lancashire will also be nominated by LAPTC to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious national English Calor Village of the Year^® competition, which was recently launched on the BBC’s Countryfile programme. Thanks to Defra’s involvement, 2005 marks the first year in the competition’s history that every village in England has the opportunity to enter the English Calor Village of the Year^® competition, which this year has a prize fund of over £36,000.

The Calor Village of the Year^® competition judges communities on a total of six aspects of rural village life, one of which is Building Community Life. The other five categories cover Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Marion Gelder concluded: “This is a great opportunity for Lancashire’s villages to prove themselves as the caring, well-integrated and enthusiastic communities I know they are. I’m sure the county’s villages have got what it takes to do well, but we won’t know unless they’re proactive and give the competition a go!” The Lancashire Building Community Life competition is open to villages with a population up to 5,000.

Further information and entry forms are available from Marion Gelder at LAPTC on 01772 750900, email laptc@btconnect.com. The deadline for entries is 27th May 2005 and judging will take place in June. The winners will be announced on 29th July, 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