GRAYSHOTT has triumphed in the 2005 Hampshire Village of the Year competition - for the second time. And it's the first time a Hampshire village has won the award for a second year. The village takes the prestigious title of 2005 Hampshire Village of the Year and £300 in prize money. Runner-up was Selborne and Cheriton and Vernham Dean were also prizewinners. The competition, run by Community Action Hampshire, with sponsorship provided by Calor, was launched in February with the aim of enabling and encouraging the county's villages to acknowledge and celebrate all that is important, challenging and valued within their communities. Over recent months, the shortlisted villages were visited by judges, who spent time talking to villagers. Competition organiser Anne Gibbons said: "It was a very close-run competition this year. The standard of entries has been excellent and the judges have had an exacting task selecting the winning villages. "They have been looking for that 'X factor', namely the strength of community life in a village and how it encompasses all ages and abilities, how a community copes with its problems, and what projects a community has going on or is planning for. Every year we are delighted by the strength of community life the competition highlight's in the county's villages, and this year is certainly no exception. "Grayshott, with a population of 1,930, is a vibrant village where residents of all ages and walks of life are encouraged to get involved in the community life. "Excellent communication in the village is supported by good facilities so there is always a lot going on to satisfy all interests. "Grayshott won the Hampshire Village of the Year competition in 2002 and the community has continued to build on that success with at least 27 new and thriving ventures which are well advertised and used. "The "Buy in Grayshott" (BIG) campaign is still going strong and there are 40 additional organisations in the village that work alongside BIG to the benefit of the entire community. "In a recent campaign, the village has raised £160,000 for the refurbishment of the local school." Buy in Grayshott (BIG), on behalf of the village, formulated the successful bid for the title. Dick Smith, chairman of the Buy in Grayshott campaign explained: "It really was a tremendous effort from the village and it was down to a well- organised itinerary which included visits around the village, popping in on an Arthritis Care meeting and finishing with the judges meeting more thanr 40 people who were representing the vast array of groups and organisations in the village." Phil Bates, vice-chairman of BIG, who helped Dick Smith prepare the necessary documentation as well as organising the judging day, said: "The whole community will be proud of our village for winning a second time in only their second attempt. "In fact this is the first time a Hampshire village has won the award twice. So many Grayshott people give up their time and contribute so much, which makes Grayshott village a wonderful place to live." One of the things with which the judges were very impressed was the community input and spirit over the proposed road scheme at Hindhead and the effect it will have on village life in Grayshott. They were amazed that £50,000 was raised to engage a barrister at the public inquiry last autumn. Grayshott's East Hampshire district councillor Ferris Cowper added: "I was delighted to hear that Grayshott has been voted Hampshire Village of the Year for the second time, an unprecedented achievement. "Naturally this reflects very well indeed on all the fantastic organisations we have in the village. There's literally something for everyone, whether you're a young person using the skatepark, which will be operational in September, a family enjoying, the annual Grayshott Jamboree or one of our older residents participating in one of the many recreational clubs. "More importantly, though, it says a great deal about our strong sense of community, that values loyalty and inclusiveness, which I think is the main feature that makes Grayshott stand out from other villages. "The award would not have happened had it not been for the fantastic effort put in by Dick Smith, chairman of Buy in Grayshott and Phil Bates, chairman of Grayshott Pottery. They put on a great show for the assessors and thanks to Dick and Phil's commitment, really there could be no other winner than Grayshott!" The overall runner-up in the competition was Selborne which is a small community with a population of 531. "It is steeped in history but has a strong 21st century outlook. The recently refurbished village hall includes an IT suite that is used extensively by all members of the community," said Anne Gibbons. "Selborne is strongly committed to the principles of a sustainable community and has an effective network of voluntary organisations to benefit the community," she said. As the overall runner-up, Selborne wins £200. The competition judges communities on six aspects of village life: building community life, business, young people, older people, the environment and information communication technology (ICT). Competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year has led to the provision of an additional £500 prize fund for Hampshire's building community life section. The winner in the building community life section, receiving a £300 prize, is the village of Cheriton. A fairly small community with a population of 621, Cheriton offers a wide range of facilities, services and events for all ages. Judges found that the village has a deep sense of community spirit. Cheriton Parish Council's clerk, Mrs Kettle enthused: "We are absolutely over the moon. As soon as we said we were going to do this everyone came up trumps! The WI did a display, the primary and pre-school and many other organisations were involved. "The village hall looks stunning. We entered the competition for the first time last year and this time we were a little more polished. We are really delighted." The building community life runner-up, receiving a £200 prize, is the village of Vernham Dean. Grayshott will now go forward to represent the county in the national English Calor Village of the Year® competition, with the opportunity of following in the footsteps of Sherfield on Loddon last year and gaining recognition at national level as well as a share in the £36,000 prize fund. Grayshott will be competing in the South England region of the competition against villages from Dorset, Isle of Wight, Kent, Surrey, Sussex (East), Sussex (West) and Oxfordshire. Anne Gibbons concluded: "I would like to warmly congratulate all the winning villages and look forward to celebrating with the communities at the presentation event in September. I also want to wish Grayshott the best of luck in the next stage of the competition. We are sure that the village can build on its success in the 2002 national competition when it won the overall award in the business category." The award will be made by Mary Fagan, The Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, at Grayshott Village Hall on Friday, September 23, at 4 pm. All villagers are welcome to attend .
• There was also reason to celebrate in Chiddingfold this week after it was named as a runner-up in the Surrey Village of the Year competition. • Full story in The Herald next week.