Four communities are set to celebrate being named as Wiltshire’s Best Kept Villages of 2023.
Tockenham, Urchfont and Bratton will receive their awards at squential presentation ceremonies on Sunday, September 24.
Tockenham was named as the Best Kept Small Village, Urchfont as the Best Kept Medium Village and Bratton as the Best Kept Large Village.
Rushall has won the Laurence Kitching Award – also called the Winner of Winners’ competition – out of the six winning villages from the last two years (2021 and 2022). They are the first village to win this award three times since its inception in 2000.
The best kept villages will celebrate their successes at a presentation day on Sunday, September 24.
The presentations, sponsored by CCm Technologies, will be led by Wiltshire’s Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Sarah Troughton, the CPRE Wiltshire president.
She will pull away the Union Flag surmounting the shield and commemorative plaques will be presented by both Mr Pawel Kisielewski, chief executive officer of CCm Technologies, and by Cllr Stuart Wheeler, chairman of Wiltshire Council.
For the third year, Rushall will also be presented with a tree by CPRE Wiltshire’s countryside ambassador, Carly Paoli, a world-famous soprano and Wiltshire resident, and supporter of the charity’s environmental mission.
Carly said: “The countryside in Wiltshire and around the country is so special and needs to be preserved and enjoyed and this competition really helps to improve the environment and generate a true sense of community spirit.”
Pawel Kisielewski, CEO of CCm Technologies, said: “The 2023 winners, from across the county, yet again showcase the divergent and extraordinary beauty of Wilshire.”
Each winning village will be presented with an eight-foot standard with mounted shield, usually placed on their village green, to keep for a year.
Separately, cash prizes and framed certificates will be awarded to each winning village, to second and third-placed villages, and to the Best Newcomer and Merit Award winners.
Cash prizes will also be awarded to fourth-placed villages. All villages who won in the first round will also receive a framed certificate.
Mike Manson, CPRE Wiltshire project officer responsible for running the competition, said: “It is important to point out that this competition could not take place without the very generous contributions of our sponsors CCm Technologies, the support of Wiltshire Council, the large team of volunteer judges and of course the immense hard work put in by individual parish councils and villagers."
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