Calor Village of the Year is announced – for 2016

Today saw the unveiling of the Calor Village of the Year Award winner – in 2016.

The fictional winning village, Little Greenham, has a population of 2,500 and has been selected for the great strides it has made in embedding sustainability in all aspects of village life.

The winner was announced in a new report by Forum for the Future, the UK’s leading sustainable development charity, commissioned by Calor to celebrate 10 years of the Calor Village of the Year Award.

The report looks forward another 10 years to what the winning village might look like in 2016. It is accompanied by an illustration of the fictional winning village in 2016, showing many of the innovative features of modern village life that will aid sustainable living.

So what’s new in Little Greenham? Why did it win the award? For a start, the village has its own vegetable field where food is produced for the local community. Second, the village has a Share Scheme, which supports new business. It also has a wind farm and an electric car pool. And on housing, the village has built 300 eco-homes, 40% of which are affordable.

Another innovation unique to the village is a welcome pack for new comers to the village, including a Little Greenham smart card, used for discounts with buses and taxis, and to register CO2 emissions and the amount of food being bought from local sources.

Reflecting the anticipated shift in energy production and consumption, the village hall is equipped with the latest, most efficient solar panels and is able to sell energy back onto the national grid.

Speaking about the report, Peter Madden, Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, said:

“Villages are some of the strongest communities we have. They are already responding creatively to environmental and social challenges, and could provide a strong example to the rest of the country how to live sustainably. We want to see the Calor Village of the Year award encouraging that.”

Speaking on behalf of Calor, Suzanne Weir, Calor Village of the Year Manager, said:

“We think this is a great report, and we’re intrigued by Forum for the Future’s findings. We’ll be using the insights of the report in conjunction with the views of those living in rural communities to shape the future direction of the competition.”

Commenting on the value of the Calor Village of the Year competition, Martin Eddy, Entry Coordinator from St Neot in Cornwall said:

“Taking part in the Calor Village of the Year competition has allowed us to take stock of everything we do as a community. The competition made us add up everything that we do and we were amazed at the total.”

To download the report, click here.

Please feel free to reproduce part of the illustration. If you’d like to reproduce the whole illustration, or for more information, please contact Imogen Martineau at i.martineau@forumforthefuture.org.uk

Notes to the Editor

- The Calor Village of the Year Award is 10 years old this year- Calor, the leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to those living and working in the countryside, has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales for 20 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year for England and Wales competitions and the Calor Scottish Community of the Year competition.- 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.- This report was commissioned by Calor and was researched and written by sustainable development charity Forum for the Future.- The report highlights the key concerns of rural communities today: lack of affordable housing, migration of young people to cities, loss of village services and climate change- Calor is committed to addressing these issues where possible through embedding sustainability into the heart of its business- The report contains recommendations as to how the Calor Village of the Year Award could assist in achieving thisCalor hopes to use the report to reassess the criteria by which the Calor Village of the Year Award is judged.- Forum for the Future is the UK’s leading sustainable development charity. Our aim is to show that a sustainable future is both possible and desirable. We work with forward looking organisations – in business and the public sector – to find practical ways to build a future that is environmentally viable, socially just and economically prosperous.- For more information on the Calor Village of the Year please visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org or telephone 01926 318634.