NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE The Hunsbury Hill Centre • Harksome Hill • • NN4 9QX Phone: 01604 765888 • www.northantsacre.org.uk

PRESS RELEASE - EMBARGOED UNTIL 7.30 PM TUESDAY 17th JULY 2018

Northamptonshire’s 2018 Best Village Competition Winners.

The winners of the 2018 Northamptonshire Best Village Competition were announced at a special evening ceremony held on Tuesday 17th July at the Hunsbury Hill Centre, Harksome Hill, Northampton. Around 60 villagers and other guests gathered to hear the results of the Competition which celebrates community spirit and the quality of life in the County’s villages.

The village of Moulton was the overall winner gaining the prestigious title of the 2018 Northamptonshire Best Village and winning the prize of £1000 to be used for community projects. was the runner up.

David Laing, H.M. Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire and President of Northamptonshire ACRE presented delegates from the winning villages with cups and certificates.

The full results were as follows:-

OVERALL WINNERS WINNER MOULTON Runner Up WEEDON BEC Third

LARGE VILLAGES Winner Moulton

MEDIUM VILLAGES Winner Weedon Bec Runner Up Braunston Highly Commended Flore

SMALL VILLAGES Winner Rothersthorpe Runner Up Great Cransley

NEWCOMERS CUP Winner Runner Up

The Best Village Competition is operated entirely by local volunteers working with Northamptonshire ACRE. The Competition looks at all aspects of village life: community and social activities, sustainability, the provision for the younger and more senior residents, the use of IT and social media, local business involvement as well as tidiness and the welcome visitors receive.

The Judges commented that Moulton is a vibrant village that retains its own community identity despite the proximity of Northampton. There are lots of opportunities to be involved in all manner of activities.

David Scudamore, Chair of the 2018 Best Village Competition, commented: “The undoubted quality of Northamptonshire’s village communities meant that the judges had great difficulty in deciding on the winning villages. It was a pleasure to meet a wide cross-section of villagers and to see the range of opportunities and initiatives that are generated in our rural communities. We compliment every village that participated in the 2018 Competition and thank them all for making the judges visits so informative and enjoyable.’’

Northamptonshire ACRE Rural Officer, Rebecca Breakwell added: “Moulton is a worthy winner of the 2018 Best Village Competition having only entered the Competition for the first time last year. The village is an excellent example of a community working together to benefit all it’s residents. We hope to see more villages enter in 2019 particularly from the north of the County which seems to be under represented.”

Photographs of the presentations to the winning villages will be emailed to you before midday on the 18th July.

For further information regarding the competition in Northamptonshire, please contact Rebecca Breakwell on 01604 825884 or via email at [email protected] or David Scudamore on 01604 762230.

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