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Eastry
Building Community Life Award for Eastry in 2005 Calor Village of the Year^® for England Competition

The Kent village of Eastry has won a regional category award for Building Community Life (sponsored by Defra) in this year’s Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition. The results of the competition were revealed at an awards luncheon held on Tuesday 6th December in London. Eastry was competing against a total of 40 other villages throughout England which were nominated to represent their respective counties in this prestigious event.

The Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition is organised and funded by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with additional funding from Defra specifically to support the Building Community Life category. The competition assesses communities on six aspects of village life in total - one of which is Building Community Life. The other five categories cover Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and, judged separately, Information Communications Technology (ICT).

Eastry won the Building Community Life category, and £750 prize money, in the South England region of the competition, competing against villages from Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, Sussex (East), Sussex (West) and Oxfordshire.

The Defra Building Community Life category of the competition was launched by Calor this year, with the support of Defra, in order to enhance the community life element of the competition. By supporting the competition, Defra wants communities to recognise the most fundamental quality which determines whether a village operates successfully as a community - that is how it ensures the inclusion of all groups or individuals, particularly the most vulnerable, in a cohesive and mutually supporting community. Minister for Rural Affairs, Jim Knight congratulated this years winners of the Building Community Life Award and praised the efforts of all those involved saying:

"For me the Defra Building Community Life category of the competition is about maintaining and supporting vibrant and self-sustaining rural communities in villages and market towns, particularly focusing on inclusion
of people outside the mainstream. Rural communities have the same essential needs as urban communities but geography dictates that we may require imaginative and innovative delivery solutions."

He went on to say:

"The judges of the Building Community Life Award looked 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."

Celebrity author and broadcaster, Alan Titchmarsh, was the guest of honour at the awards luncheon. He was joined by Calor’s managing director, Howard Kerr, to present representatives of Eastry with their prizes. Alan commented: “Rural communities are an essential part of the fabric of our country - they are the backbone of British life. It is for this reason that the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition, which aims to support and promote village life, is such a positive event and something which I am happy to support. The competition highlights the very best of village life, encouraging villagers to work together to the benefit of all residents. More importantly, it provides a forum for communities to share best practice and encourages them to address any problems or opportunities that become apparent following their involvement in the competition.”

Eastry, which was nominated to take part in the competition by Action with Communities in Rural Kent, demonstrated excellence and innovation in many aspects of building community life. The village – large, with a socially mixed community, on the edge of the former Kent coalfield – had faced a problem of petty crime and anti-social behaviour, and fear of troublesome teenagers on the part of old and young alike. This has changed radically for the better over the last couple of years, thanks to three initiatives: the parish council taking the lead in carrying out a village appraisal to find out local people’s concerns, then developing a Parish Plan designed to put in place the changes people wanted to see; the appointment of a community warden (paid by Kent County Council) – Bob Priestley, a dynamic and caring activist who knows everyone and everything in the village, keeps an eye on people in need, and helps the community feel safe and welcoming; and the opening of a new youth club, in their own building next to and partly cross-subsidised by Bubbles, a private nursery, which has given young people something to do in the evening and a chance to manage their own affairs; close by is a graffiti wall, giving young people a chance to express themselves in public without causing a nuisance. The judges were also impressed by the way that residents in a care home for people with learning disabilities were welcomed in the village shops and pubs and involved in the life of the community. Overall, a village well on its way to re-establishing a strong sense of community that it had risked losing.

Calor’s managing director, Howard Kerr, commented: “Feedback from villages over the years confirms how those entering the Calor Village of the Year^® competition are amazed at the richness of community life that is revealed as they go forward. The 2005 competition has once again highlighted some extraordinary communities across England as well as some great examples of how villages are working to achieve a better quality of life for residents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every village that has taken part this year and congratulate them on their achievements, whether they have won a prize or not.

“The Calor Village of the Year^® competition has been supporting rural communities for nine years and many villages have benefited from taking part – either at county or national level. As the competition reaches its 10th anniversary, we are confident that villages will continue to benefit in the future. Thanks must also go to Alan for his continued support, which is sure to raise the profile of the competition and spread the message to even more communities.”

For more information on the Calor Village of the Year^® for England competition visit the website (www.calorvillageoftheyear.org) or call Calor on 01962 629768. 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

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