Calor Village of the Year - still time to enter

If you think your village or small community is the best in Scotland, then why not enter the Calor Village of the Year Awards?

The competition is open to places with a population less than 5000 and you will be judged on four categories: people, business, environment and communication. Entry to the competition is by an online questionnaire and submission of up to 500 words explaining ‘What makes your rural community a special place?' As the first stage will be blind judged, applicants are asked not to make reference to the name of their community in the questionnaire.

Awards can come from representatives of any not-for-profit local community body, including community councils, community associations, village hall committees and local networks, partnerships or forums.

The Category Guidelines on the awards website give you more information on what they are looking for.

There are four regions: North, Central, South and Scottish islands. Regional winners will win £1000. A further £3000 will be taken by the overall winner. The closing date is 31st May 2008.

At the launch, Cathy Peattie MSP said, "These new awards are about sustaining Scotland's rural communities. The awards take in much more than just presentation. They focus on how the people in rural communities can work together to make the places they live in the best they can be for everyone."

For more see Calor Village of the Year website.