Welcome to the 2014 Essex Village of the Year and Best Kept Village Competition.

Sponsored by Essex & Suffolk Water and Worldbridge Ltd, and supported by Essex Life.

The competition is all about encouraging vibrant, enterprising and caring rural communities. The judges will be looking for those villages which, irrespective of size, are doing most to enhance the quality of life for all inhabitants.

 How to Enter

Each village must have a sponsoring organisation that submits its entry. This will normally be the Parish Council but does not have to be. If the Parish Council is the sponsoring organisation, it is important to consult with community groups and other interested parties before submitting the entry. There may be other people in the village only too keen to help out and even take a lead.

For judging purposes the competition is divided into two elements.

Village Profile – this comprises five broad questions on the themes of Community, Businesses and Services, Environment, The Future and A Special Place. This gives you the flexibility to describe your community in your own words. Remember, this is your opportunity to “sell” your village, so please make use of question 5.

Larger villages – under questions 1 and 2 please note that we do not require a list of every community organisation or business, just those of particular significance. The size of the community will be taken into account when marking this section.