Press Archive

2005 Sussex Village of the Year Competition launches

The 2005 Sussex Village of the Year competition has just been launched and, with the provision of a £500 prize fund, the county’s villages have an extra incentive to enter this year’s competition.

The competition is run by Action in rural Sussex and sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The competition 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. The £500 prize money is thanks to competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Defra is providing additional funding in 2005 at both county and national level to enhance the newly established Building Community Life category.

In Sussex there will be winners for both the East and West Sussex Village of the Year and an overall Building Community Life winner for Sussex. Competition organiser on behalf of Action in rural Sussex, Teresa Gittins, is looking forward to a good response from villages to the 2005 competition: “We are really excited about this year’s competition. It is hoped that the additional prize money will galvanise the county’s villages into action. However, I must stress that, although the prize money is certainly one of the benefits of entering, it is by no means the only reason villages should take part. “The competition gets residents working together and encourages 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.”

Later in the year, the overall winners for East Sussex and West Sussex will be nominated to enter the prestigious national English Calor Village of the Year^® competition, which was launched earlier in the year 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.

In 2003, Sussex’s entrants to the national competition did extremely well. Alfriston in East Sussex won a regional category award for Community Life, whilst Ashington in West Sussex won the overall title, becoming the 2003 Calor Village of the Year^® for England and Wales. Teresa Gittins concluded: “Our success in the 2003 national Calor Village of the Year^® proves that the county’s villages have got what it takes to do well in the competition. But, the first stage is to take the plunge and get together an entry for the county competition, and I can’t stress enough what a positive activity this is for the communities taking part.”

Entry forms and further information regarding the competition are available from Michele Condon at Action in rural Sussex by email at michele.condon@ruralsussex.org.uk, or by telephoning 01273 407325. The deadline for entries is the end of July and a number of shortlisted villages will be visited by judges in August. The winners will be announced at a formal presentation event taking place on 18th November.

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