Village of the Year

The Calor Village of the Year competition gives the UK's smaller communities the chance to put their village through its paces.

Calor set up the Village of the Year competition in 1997, to help promote sustainability among rural communities.

With 15,517 eligible villages in the UK, the competition helps communities to evaluate themselves, by working out exactly what goes on in their area. Many people find out there is a lot more happening in their area than they were aware of!

Community members gain greatly from the experience of working together for a common cause. Thinking of how to safeguard the long-term viability of local life benefits the village hugely, and whether they are a winner or not, they still feel the rewards of being revitalised, inspired, and sharing a greater sense of community spirit.

 

In October 2008, Oswaldkirk won the people category in the competition and was also named County Village of the Year. The caption shows the awards being made.

Philip Lawson, chairman of the Yorkshire Village Awards Committee said: "Oswaldkirk has shown remarkable community spirit in entering the competition, impressing the judges and pulling off this achievement. I wish them every success when, as county winner, they go forward to represent Yorkshire in the national competition."