The village sent three representatives to Kennington Village Hall on Saturday 18th August to meet with and present our village to the judges of the Oxfordshire Village of the Year competition. The result will be announced on October 3rd.
Graham de Wilde, Belinda Drew and Ben Shaw joined representatives of other Oxfordshire villages on Saturday 18th August to present Upton Village to the judges of the Calor Oxfordshire Villages of the Year Competition.
The invitation to the judging event at Kennington Village Hall to display materials that reflect the character of the village and to talk to the judges was given to Upton after being chosen as one of 18 finalists of the competition.
The judges were looking for active, caring and inclusive communities, rewarding community action and community spirit. Ben, Belinda and Graham all had the opportunity to talk to the judges about the widespread involvement in village clubs and activities since the completion of the Parish Plan, to show off the excellent village website and to talk about the plans on the horizon such as village carbon emissions reduction.
The judging went very well, with the great success of Upton’s Parish Plan attracting the attention of the judges and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC), leading to an invitation for a member of the village to speak on the subject at a Parish Plan training event in October.
Whichever community emerges as the Calor Oxfordshire Villages of the Year winner will have the honour of being nominated to go forward to represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year for England competition 2007/08. This will give them the opportunity to gain national recognition as well as a share of a prize fund totalling more than £36,000.
The evening of the ORCC Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 3 October will include the presentation of Competition awards and a photo session. For more details of the Oxfordshire competition, download the Villages of the Year Report 2006 or contact Aimee Evans at ORCC. on aimee.evans@oxonrcc.org.uk