» Calor Village of the Year Competition
The Calor Village of the Year competition ran between 1996 and 2009 with the specific aim of encouraging and rewarding sustainable, enterprising and vibrant rural communities across Britain. Thousands of villages benefited from taking part, at both county and national level, through working together, engendering a genuine sense of community spirit.
The competition rewarded well-balanced, pro-active, caring communities which, irrespective of size, made the best of local opportunities to create a sustainable future and cope with environmental change.
The overriding theme of the competition was sustainability - encouraging villages to look forward. With this in mind, the competition focused on four areas of village life – Community, Business, Sustainability and Communications. Examples of the criteria for each category are:
Community - a better place to live:
- What local facilities, services and activities are available to residents and how are they supported by the community?
- How are villagers of all ages – both young and old - encouraged to get involved in village life and how are their needs assessed?
- Are any problems within the community dealt with effectively, e.g. anti-social behaviour and low level crime?
Business - a better place to work:
- What part do local businesses play in the life of the community?
- How do they support village life and vice versa?
- Are there any employment opportunities for local residents?
Sustainability - a better future:
- What has been or is currently being undertaken in the community to help protect and improve the local and global environment?
- What plans have your community put in place/is planning on putting in place to achieve this?
- Is your community involved in any environmental/conservation projects?
Communications - being in contact:
- What is done in your community to welcome newcomers and inform them about village life?
- What measures are taken to ensure that all villagers are able to have their say in village life?
- Can people in need of care and support easily access information relating to the services available?
- Does your community benefit from the use of ICT (Information Communication Technology)?
The Calor Village of the Year competition brought many benefits to those who took part, regardless of whether they won a County, Regional or National title. All entrants reaped real benefits from working together as a village, engendering a genuine sense of community spirit. Feedback from participating villages over the years revealed communities pulling together, improving the quality of life for young and old, embarking upon ambitious projects - and achieving them - and creating warm, welcoming places to live.
» A new approach to rural sustainability:
However, by late 2009, the rural agenda had changed dramatically. The economic climate and increasing instances of fuel poverty, coupled with concerns over energy efficiency and climate change, meant that rural communities were now facing unprecedented pressure and a new set of challenges. Calor takes its role as a responsible energy supplier extremely seriously and is committed to supporting both the Government and rural communities in tackling these issues. Therefore, the decision was taken to suspend Calor Village of the Year for 2010; instead redirecting the entire investment and resource into the delivery of an energy advisorship programme.
Starting in 2010, Calor will run a 3 year, £1million, rural energy advisorship campaign, aimed purely at off-grid rural communities across Britain. The aim is to bring independent advice and information to residents regarding fuel choices, energy efficient technologies, and carbon reduction measures. The campaign will both help individual households to focus on their energy consumption, and also encourage local communities to work together to promote best practice in energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
» Northern Ireland Calor Village of the Year competition:
The Northern Ireland Calor Village of the Year programme will continue to run in 2010 – for further information regarding this competition, please visit www.calorgasni.com
