The search has begin for the county’s top village as GRCC launches its Gloucestershire Village of the Year Competition 2025. This is an opportunity for communities to show that they are balanced, proactive, caring and, irrespective of size, making the best of local opportunities to sustain or enhance the quality of life for all their residents. The competition is open to villages with a parish council or parish meeting with a total population of under 5,000. Entry forms are available now to download from the GRCC website at www.grcc.org.uk and the deadline for entries is Wednesday 30th April 2025.

Villages will be judged on five categories:

· Community Led Health and Wellbeing

· Climate & Environment

· Inclusive Community

· Digital & Innovation

· High Sheriff’s Volunteer of the Year Award

After the judges’ visits have taken place in May/June, representatives from the shortlisted communities will be invited to the awards ceremony in July at Highnam Court, where the achievements of those who have taken part will be celebrated and the winners announced. A cheque for £2,000 together with a framed commemorative certificate and plaque will be awarded to the overall winner as well as to each of the individual category winners. Category runners up will each receive £1,000, a framed certificate and plaque. This year’s competition features a special award from the High Sheriff for Volunteer of the Year. All entries will be automatically entered into the Grand Prize Draw with the chance to win prizes worth over £500 donated by B&Q in Gloucester.

GRCC is proud to be partnering with One Gloucestershire, Barnwood, Renishaw, Cotswold and Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and Freeman Homes as key sponsors, with kind support from the local media and Cotswold Life.

Barbara Piranty, GRCC’s CEO said, ‘We are excited to be running the competition again for 2025, and hope that our communities take this opportunity to showcase all the good things they are doing. We have experienced turbulent times in the past five years and we hope this will be a celebration of how villages have come together to support each other and thrive.”

Dymock, a previous Village of the Year winner shared why they got involved. Councillor Gill Kilmurray, Vice Chair of the Parish Council said, “It’s a great way for newer people to get involved in the village.”

Parish Clerk, Rachel Freestone added, “It’s a great opportunity for all the volunteers and organisations to come together and show what a great village it is”.

Debbie Downham, one of the villagers involved in Dymock’s entry said, “The benefit of entering is that it gives the village a reason to pull together, and if you win, you’ve got that sense of achievement and recognition. It really capped off everything we’d achieved – we’d brought all these groups into one and it felt like a great accolade to everyone for all the work they put in. I think there’s a great community spirit here.”

The GRCC team are on hand to advise on the completion of entry forms and can be contacted via the website or by calling 01452 528491.