Search is on for the Best Kept Village (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Search is on for the Best Kept Village

VILLAGES in north and west Wiltshire are being encouraged to show they are the cleanest, tidiest and have the best community spirit in the county.

This year's Best Kept Village has been launched in Wiltshire and entry forms are being sent out.

Organised by the Wiltshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), and sponsored by petroleum gas supplier Calor, the competition focuses on community spirit and celebrates villages pulling together for the benefit of all residents.

This year, for the first time there will be a separate Building Community Life competition, after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provided additional funding.

George McDonic, branch chairman of Wiltshire CPRE, said: "No one village will have everything but this is a chance to highlight what they do have, and what they're really proud of whether it's a beautifully kept green or the way they provide for their young people."

The deadline for entries is April 1 and winners will be announced on August 1.

One village will be nominated the English Calor Village of the Year competition, with a prize of more than £36,000.