Don't miss your chance to be Gloucestershire's Vibrant Village!

Gloucestershire Rural Community Council recently launched Gloucestershire Vibrant Village of the Year 2010 with entry forms and letters sent out to all rural parishes in the county. This competition is an opportunity for villages to showcase the important and innovative work they do and GRCC is looking for communities that are balanced, proactive, caring and, irrespective of size, making the best of local opportunities to sustain or enhance the quality of life for all their residents. The competition is open to villages with a parish council or parish meeting and a total population of less than 3,500. Parishes will be judged on four categories: Best Community Facility, Best Community Project/Initiative, Most Resilient Community and Healthy & Active Community and the deadline for return is Tuesday 4th May 2010.

After the judging visits have taken place in May and June, entrants will be invited to the awards ceremony at the beautiful Rococo Gardens in Painswick, Stroud on 15th July 2010, where the achievements of those who have taken part will be celebrated and the winners announced. A cheque for £500 together with a framed commemorative certificate will be awarded to the overall winner as well as to each of the individual category winners. Runners up will each receive a cheque for £100 and other awards may be presented at the judges' discretion. All entries will also be entered into the Grand Prize Draw with the chance to win a gift voucher kindly donated by B&Q in Gloucester.

We are fortunate this year to be able to enjoy the continued additional sponsorship of NHS Gloucestershire, together with Gloucestershire's Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership and are also pleased to welcome a new sponsor, The Honourable Company of Gloucestershire.

GRCC's Chief Executive, Lesley Archer said, "We are hoping that this year, communities who may not have entered in the past, make the most of the shorter, simplified form and tell us about the great things they are doing for their community." She added, "We are also thrilled to welcome the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire as new sponsors."

For more information on the competition or to obtain an entry form and a copy of the insights document giving hints and tips from previous winners, please contact Naomi McMahon at GRCC on 01452 528491 or follow the link.