Swanton Morley pipped to national village of year title

The Norfolk village of Swanton Morley has just missed out on the top spot in the Calor Village of the Year England competition 2009/10.

The final results of the competition have been announced and although Swanton Morley put up a good fight and proved that they were a real contender, it was Newton le Willows in North Yorkshire that gained the national title for England.

Calor Village of the Year manager, Holly Sims, said: 'This was a really close competition - all of the regional winners are great communities and our judging team had a very difficult task in selecting an overall winner.

'Swanton Morley should be extremely proud of its success in the competition as winning a regional title is no mean feat. I'm sure villagers are disappointed not to be our overall winner for England, but their achievements in the competition throughout the year - at both county and regional level - have been fantastic and they deserve warm congratulations.'

Calor Village of the Year judges villages across four key areas: community - a better place to live, business - a better place to work, sustainability - a better future, and communications - being in contact.

In awarding Swanton Morley the title for East England judges particularly noted the excellent range of services on offer for all ages in this community as well as the way the village has coped so well in uniting residents with the army families who live in the area.

As the regional winner for East England, Swanton Morley has won a total of �2,000 prize money to invest back into community projects.

To find out more about Calor Village of the Year, including full details the winning villages for 2009/10, please visit the competition website at www.calorvillageoftheyear.org