Lancashire Best Kept Village Competition

2024 Competition

Cultivating Tomorrow's Heritage for Lancashire’s Villages & Urban Communities

After 68 years of celebrating Lancashire's villages, the Best Kept Village Competition is evolving! We’re on the lookout for villages / neighbourhoods / communities that are not only well-cared for but are also champions of community spirit and aspire to a sustainable green future.

Is this where you live?

We’ve updated and expanded our judging criteria to include:

  • Biodiversity and nature conservation
  • Waste reduction and recycling

If you are proud of the area you live in we want to hear from you!

Become a part of a growing movement:
Butterfly Let’s celebrate villages and urban communities that are not only beautiful but are making a real difference for our planet. It’s time for change, and every step counts. Join a network of communities striving for a better future.

"Rooted in Tradition, Thriving in Responsibility"

Post-registration, 42 villages have entered across the categories and the 2024 competition is now underway. Round 2 judging has taken place and finalists announced.

Welcome to Lancashire…

Lancashire VillageThe Red Rose County situated in the North West of England, extending over 1,189 square miles from Carnforth to Ormskirk and Blackpool to Colne, with a population of 1.5 million, who inhabit its cities, towns and villages. Historic, proud and evolving; part of the country's great heritage through industry and innovation, art and its people - proud Lancastrians.

The Best Kept Village Competition, focuses on the hundreds of rural, semi-rural and industrial villages that give Lancashire its sense of history and time; villagers encouraged to take pride in the location and surroundings, to care for and take care of these many residential jewels, and to put their villages forward across many categories in this popular and inclusive annual competition.

Aims

Lancashire VillageThe aims of the competition then, as now, are to encourage, through community effort and involvement, a high standard of care and maintenance in Lancashire villages and hamlets.

The competition marked its Diamond Jubilee in 2018, celebrating 60 years of 'inspiring communities to work together to make their villages a better place to live'.

The competition is open to all villages, hamlets and settlements in Lancashire. We encourage all Lancashire villages to enter and to be part of something quite special and communitarian.


2023 Competition

Last year's competition concluded in October with the Presentation Event at Eaves Hall West Bradford when winners were announced. Preparations began earlier in the year and entries invited for the 2023 'Lancashire Best Kept Village Competition', which saw three rounds of judging including the final two in each class. Our judges visiting villages large and small all over Lancashire, all hoping to be named 'Best Kept Village', as well as submitting entries for the increasingly popular 'Outstanding Features' category nominations.

We were very grateful to all of our judges and in particular The Hon. Mr Justice Peter Openshaw who oversaw the 'Finalist' judging - two in each class - late August.

We piloted a new class called 'Tidy Towns'. This had arisen due to many of the Lancashire Villages becoming much larger due to recent building. It was also felt that identifiable communities within a town could benefit from this category as participation does encourage Community Spirit and Pride. Whilst based on the principles of the Best Kept Village Competition there are some small differences. As it is a small Pilot this year, Entry Forms for 'Tidy Towns' were obtained from the Competition Secretary.

Following the enforced hiatus in 2020 and a resumption in 2021 - albeit with still some caution impacting numbers involved - it has been good to see the competion return and evolve with villages across Lancashire competing for both 'Lancashire Best Kept Village' and 'Outstanding Features' categories.


Winners (2023):
Champion Class: Elswick
Large Village Class: Sabden
Medium Village Class: Town Green
Small Village Class: Grindleton
Hamlet Class: Little Eccleston
Tidy Town: Ingol
2023 Results

Previous Years

The 2022 competition saw 47 villages entering with a further 262 entries across the 'Outstanding Features' categories - Bretherton was announced Champion Village. Our special guest judge, Guy Topping, Managing Director of Barton Grange, took on the task of final judging and was present at our Presentation Event at Eaves Hall (17/10/22) - Winners 2022.

Whilst we had hoped to be able to go ahead with the 2020 competition, Government announcements and the impact of Covid-19 measures meant that we took the decision not to proceed. Happily, we were able to announce that the competition could go ahead in 2021, with entries requested by 17th April - 46 villages entered. Making the final in 2021, were the villages of Grindleton, Halsall, Pilling, Barton, Blacko, Little Eccleston, Whitechapel, Barley and Wiswell; Ralph Assheton (Sheriff of Lancashire 2020) was the overall judge, and Blacko was announced as our 2021 Champion Village and overall winner. Full details of 2021 Competition HERE (PDF Download).

The 2019 competition had 56 villages entering across the categories. Our 2019 overall winner was Higham as judged by John Gilmore of Radio Lancashire. Full details.

............

Our thanks to all those who enter and participate in our 'Best Kept Village Competition'. Big thanks too to our Judges, the LBKVC team and committee and our sponsors.

 

News: Latest

The Committee is pleased to announce this year's competition is now underway with villages entering 'Best Kept Village', 'Outstanding Features' and new 'Urban Communities' categories. Judges training sessions to took place 10th April and 11th May at Elswick Vllage Hall..

Round 2 villages and Finalists (bold) announced.
◆ Champion - Blacko, Bretherton, Chipping, Grindleton, Sabden
◆ Large - Adlington Higher, Hambleton, Longton
◆ Medium - Goosnargh & Whittingham, Newburgh, Waddington
◆ Small - Belmont, Brindle, Roughlee, West Bradford
◆ Hamlet - Little Eccleston, Inglewhite

Second Round judging results released on 15th August; with Final Judging 20th and 21st August.

The 2024 results to be announced at Presentation Event at Eaves Hall West Bradford 14th October when awards for 'Best Kept Villages' and 'Outstanding Features' given out.

We would like to thank all the villages taking part this year and look forward to visiting as part of the judging process. As ever we much appreciate all who take part and support this event, especially our Judges, Committee and sponsors.


In 2019 the 'Constitution of the Competition' was updated and streamlined, simplifying all paperwork used by villages and judges; the Certificate of Merit part of the competition was overhauled, replaced by a secondary competition called 'Outstanding Features' - villages entering the main competition able to nominate up to 10 Outstanding Features of their village, and certificates awarded to the best in each class. Ahead of the 2023 competition there was further review of the Constitution, entry and judging criteria and a pilot in place to add a 'Tidy Towns' section - this has evolved to become 'Urban Communities'.

Other Information

'10 Lancashire villages that you should visit' Lancashire Life (article)

'10 Most Picturesque Villages in Lancashire' Hotels.com (Go Guide). Visit period drama sets, unique hamlets and areas of outstanding beauty…

Did you know there are regional best kept village competitions across the United Kingdom?

Our thanks to our 2024 sponsors: Barton Grange Group, Eaves Hall Hotel at West Radford, Lancashire Association of Local Councils (LALC).