Hunt for best village is on

The search for the Calor Village of the Year 2006 starts in Cambridgeshire next month. The main competition looks at a number of categories of village life including Building Community Life; Business; Young People; Older People; Environment and Informatio

The search for the Calor Village of the Year 2006 starts in Cambridgeshire next month.

The main competition looks at a number of categories of village life including Building Community Life; Business; Young People; Older People; Environment and Information Communications Technology.

There is also a separate Special Project Award which villages can enter without entering the main competition.

Representatives from villages thinking of entering the competition are invited to an informal session at Over Community Centre on February 7.

They will be able to find out what entry involves, hear from participants in previous years' competitions and question the judges and stewards about the competition.

Cash prizes include £500 for the winner of the Building Community Life category, from Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

The county winner will be invited to go on to the national awards with a prize fund this year of over £36,000. The national Calor Village of the Year judges look 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.

First prize is £6,000 with £1,500 for each of five regional winners. There are also five category prizes of £500 within each region (covering Business, Environment, Care for Older People, Care for Young People and Information Communications Technology), and a prize of £750 for the winner of the Building Community Life category in each of the five regions.

The five regional winners of the Information Communication Technology category are judged to find an overall winner, the award for which is £1,000. There is also, thanks to the Defra support, a prize of £2,000 for an overall Building Community Life winner, which is selected from the five regional winners.

There is also The Fairhaven Cup for Cambridgeshire and a cup for Huntingdonshire sponsored by The Hunts Post. This was won by Sawtry last year.

INFORMATION: The meeting is in Over on February 7 is at 6.15pm. To book places or for information, contact Julie Weekes, Cambridgeshire ACRE, telephone 01353 860850, email julie.weekes@cambsacre.org.uk. Email:info@calorvillageoftheyear.org Telephone: 01926 318634, or visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.