Great Bardfield, Essex

Great Bardfield Named England's Best Village for Communications

-Essex community triumphs in Calor Village of the Year 2009/10 -

As the festive season approaches, residents of an Essex community will have more than most to celebrate, having just been revealed as the national Communications winner in a prestigious competition. Crowned the regional category winner last month, Great Bardfield has gone one step further – gaining the Communications category title for England along with £500 in prize money.

Winning the national Communications title is a great achievement for Great Bardfield and follows success in the competition throughout the year at county and regional level. Calor Village of the Year judges communities across four key areas: Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, and Communications – being in contact.

Judges commented on Great Bardfield: “The Community Information Point is central and multi-purpose with computer facilities for public use. It is a prime example of following through an idea to everyone’s benefit. The combination of the Bardfield Times, the community website, noticeboards - especially a youth notice board - and the Welcome Pack all combine to excellent effect. The village shows a great attitude towards developing an inclusive, well-informed community.”

Holly Sims, Calor Village of the Year manager, added: “Congratulations to Great Bardfield! Villagers will be sure to be ending the year on a high following this achievement and we’re delighted to be able to recognise them for all the wonderful projects and hard work that have gone into making the community the best for Communications in England.

“I know that our judges had a very difficult task to select the overall category winner so it really is testament to Great Bardfield’s innovation, hard work and determination that they have won through.”

To win the national Communications title, Great Bardfield beat off competition from: Rainow, Cheshire; Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire; Porlock, Somerset; and Bonsall, Derbyshire.

The village was also up for the national Business category award, but narrowly missed out on gaining this with the Dorset village of Halstock winning through.

To find out more about Calor Village of the Year, including full details of the winning villages for 2009/10, please visit the competition website at www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

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Further press information available from:  Amaze PR, Emma Flinn on 0161 817 4221/ Rebecca Jones on 0161 817 4200, email r.jones@amaze.com

Notes to Editors 

Calor Village of the Year®

Calor is the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), the versatile off-mains fuel for rural communities and businesses. For the past 22 years Calor has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales through its Rural Sponsorship programme, spearheaded by the Calor Village of the Year competition.

About the competition:
In the Calor Village of the Year® for England national competition the judges will be looking for sustainable communities that are responding to the current environmental and socio-economic challenges and which, irrespective of size, are making best use of local opportunities to enhance the quality of life for all residents. 

Villages are judged across four categories:  Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, Communications – being in contact. 

Prize details:
First prize is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are four category prizes of £500.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

For further information:
For general information on the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org  or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For media enquiries relating the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Emma Flinn:
email: e.flinn@amaze.com  or tel: 0161 817 4221

For general enquiries relating to the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Brian Challis:
email: b.challis@ntlworld.com, tel: 01962 629768 or visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For further information on Calor and its sustainability commitment please visit:  www.calor.co.uk