The winner of the 2008 competition was announced at yesterday's AGM.
A village in north Essex where as many as 60 volunteers contribute to the running of the village shop is celebrating after claiming the top prize in this year’s Calor Essex Village of the Year and Best Kept Village Competition.
Langham, near Colchester, beat off strong competition notably from Great Bardfield and West Bergholt, placed second and third respectively, to clinch the prestigious Essex Village of the Year award. In addition to receiving a prize of £500, they will also have the honour of representing Essex in the high profile Calor Village of the Year for England competition in 2009.
In addition to its impressive ‘community shop’, Langham also boasts an imposing community centre, a recreation ground with a range of sports facilities and a ‘quiet garden’, and provides activities and support for young people and the elderly. It is also very proud of its heritage and earlier this year unveiled an eye catching new memorial to the USAAF Second World War airfield that stood in the parish.
The competition, organised annually by Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) and sponsored by liquefied petroleum gas supplier Calor, also honours a raft of Best Kept Village winners. The 5 individual class winners were, Danbury, West Bergholt, Great Waltham, Fyfield and Messing. All prize winners received their awards at RCCE’s Annual General Meeting on 9th July.
RCCE Director, Nick Shuttleworth, paid tribute to Langham, which has a population of just over 1,000:
“Our competition is all about rewarding vibrant, enterprising and caring villages, a description that sums up Langham perfectly. The way that the community centre, recreation ground and community shop have been brought together on a single site to create a real focal point for the community is especially impressive. Our judges were also delighted to see residents of all ages taking part in the presentation on finals day.”
He went on: “ Great Bardfield and West Bergholt also deserve special praise as both are working especially hard to address the needs of young people. Great Bardfield has also completed the renovation of its Cottage Museum and now has ambitious plans for a new sports pavilion.”
Nick Shuttleworth paid tribute to all this year’s winning villages:
“This competition demonstrates all that is good about rural life in Essex. Our judges were enormously impressed by the enterprise, commitment and sheer hard work of the dedicated volunteers who do so much for our rural communities.”
Rural Community Council of Essex is a registered charity which promotes community projects throughout rural Essex and acts as a voice for rural people on key issues.
Further information from Nick Shuttleworth on 0844 4773938 or e-mail; nick.shuttleworth@essexrcc.org.uk
Downloads / Links
These links can be clicked on to open the target in a new window, or if you wish to save the document onto your pc then please right-click and select "Save target as ..."
 VILLAGE OF THE YEAR-BKV RESULTS 2008.DOC
|
|
|