Best kept village
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A best kept village is a village that has won an annual competition (usually on a county basis) in the UK for its tidiness, appropriateness and typicality. For example see: CPRE Devon competition.
The Competition
The data in this section is taken from a county competition - in this case Devon, which can be taken as typical and which is sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers.
The competition has been nationally organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England for nearly 40 years.
The objects are to encourage villages to harness a sense of community by:
- keeping the village clean
- keeping the village well cared for
- keeping the village environmentally friendly
The village does not have to be particularly picturesque or traditional, or even attractive.
The ethos of the competition is summed up by these remarks on from East Staffordshire:
“The competition is not about pretty villages, it is about community spirit and seeks the involvement of the whole village community, all age groups and organisations. This not only fosters greater pride in a village, but it can increase tourism and interest in the area. Members of the Best Kept Village Competition Working Group are more than willing to give a presentation to any village needing help and advice on entering, whether they are new to the competition or are regular entrants who would like to improve on their past performance.”
The competition is judged in four categories: past winners, small villages, large villages, new entries.
Sponsors often provide a small prize to the winners. Other initiatives of a competitive nature (often involving children) are included.
The competition is judged by a panel of anonymous judges, and judging takes place is three rounds in May, June and July/August.
Checklist
The judging checklist includes the following items:
- 1. Absence of litter and unsightly refuse dumps on verges
- 2. Condition of village greens, playing fields, school yards, public seats and noticeboards
- 3. Condition of public and private buildings, gardens and allotments, including hedges, walls, fences and outhouses
- 4. Condition of churchyards, cemeteries and war memorials
- 5. Condition of public halls, sports facilities and car parks
- 6. Cleanliness of public toilets, bus shelters and telephone kiosks
- 7. State of footpaths, stiles, field gates, signposting, ponds and streams
- 8. Condition of commercial and business premises, including advertisements and other signs
- 9. Clear evidence of local commitment and initiative in the care and maintenance of the village
- 10. Evidence of community spirit
Award
A prize is given to the winner from past winners - the Pertwee Bowl. Other categories receive the CPRE shield. Certificates are given to winners and runners-up. Winning villages receive a 'best kept village' road sign. All winners receive vouchers.
Benefits
The creation and support of a sense of community can be seen at work, making a village seem more than a collection of houses, public and work buildings.
There may be direct commercial benefits to some local businesses. Pubs, bed and breakfast establishments, tea shops, farmers' markets, craft shops and antiques businesses may gain extra custom.
Best kept villages are often a high point on a day trip by car or bus for town-dwellers.
Criticisms
These are frequent. Winning the competition may be seen as drawing too much traffic to a village, and making it busier, even drawing unwelcome strangers to it. As a village must look good overall, villagers who do not fit in with the ethos may feel excluded, say by failing to keep their gardens up to winning standards.
In fiction
Ambridge, Borsetshire has been a winner in the radio soap opera The Archers.
Much of the plot to Hot Fuzz, a 2007 British action comedy film by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, revolves around the rather egregious lengths the citizens of Sanford will go to in their attempt at keeping a best kept village award.