The Richard Winterton Best Kept Village Community Competition is back for 2022 with a new focus on the community aspect of village life and a brand new website. In 2020 the competition was cancelled for the first time in its history due to lockdown. This year there will be new children’s events and a special competition to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Sponsored by Richard Winterton Auctioneers and managed by The Community Foundation, competition judges are as usual expecting another close competition. Many communities use the Best Kept Village Community Competition or BKVC as the perfect opportunity to improve the overall outlook of their village maintaining their efforts throughout the year, leading to a sustainable and longer-term boost to the local community.

But for 2022 there will be a significant focus on the community aspect of village life. Communities will be able to gain additional points by sharing their stories of friendship, inclusivity, cohesion and of course community spirit.

Jo Cooper, the project lead here at The Community Foundation, said, “We are so excited to run the Best Kept Village Community Competition once again after Covid and the introduction of new competitions and points available showcase what a perfect platform BKVC is to showcase and celebrate our wonderful Staffordshire communities.”

This year we are also pleased to launch a brand new website dedicated to the Best Kept Village Community Competition. Villages may now apply online via the new site and have access to a variety of resources and support. This new website helps reduce our carbon footprint through the use of digital entries and resources. Take a look and see our new website here.

Richard Winterton, county sponsor of the competition, said “After 2020’s cancellation and last year’s virtual event, I know both the BKVC judges are looking forward to visiting the villages and entrants are bursting to showcase celebrate their communities and we thrilled to be involved as sponsors of this special competition.”

Teams of judges will visit each village in the first round of judging in May and again in June. The Large and Small Villages with the highest marks will go forward to the Area Finals, to be judged in July. The Best Large and the Best Small Village in each Area (based on the aggregated marks for June, July, and the Area Finals) will then go forward to the County Finals, which will be judged in late July.