Lancashire Best-Kept Village Competition underway

The Annual Spring Conference, held at Elswick, was attended by 90 preliminary judges and marked the start of this year’s competition. As always, the afternoon included a practice judging of Elswick in preparation for the two visits by each team of two judges to the 93 villages which have entered (two up on last year).

Preliminary judging starts on June 11th, with the final judging by the Bishop of Lancaster in August, and once again, the Awards Ceremony will be at Gibbon Bridge, Chipping, on Monday, October 10th.

The competition remains popular and the awarding of an engraved plaque to the class winners (Champion, Large, Medium and Small Villages and Hamlet) is the ultimate goal.

Unfortunately, the plaques are far from cheap, and that puts the cost of running the competition at just over £4,000, which cannot be met from entry fees alone. It already has generous supporters, but to ensure its continuance, the competition would welcome more sponsors. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor can contact the secretary, Jeanette Lowe, on 01257 481415.

The competition is supported by Lancashire Life magazine, Gibbon Bridge Hotel and Restaurant, Ribby Hall Village, Ribble Valley Borough Council, the Lancashire Association of Local Councils and several Lancashire County Councillors.