Metheringham is once again battling for places in the Best Kept Village and Small towns Competition. They will be assessed by a team of judges travelling hundreds of miles across the county. The judges, all volunteers, will judge villages in five classes over three rounds of judging, finishing up in August. There are five categories - Class 1 - population 100 - 500, Class 2 Population 501 - 2000, Class 3 Population 2,001 - 7,000, Class 4 - Small market towns to a population of 7,000, and a Past Winners' class.

The competition is organised by Teresa Palmer of the Community Council of Lincolnshire on behalf of the Lincolnshire Branch of CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England). The number of entrants has risen again this year, and she said, ‘The competition is going from strength to strength and it never ceases to amaze me how many new villages enter each year.’

The competition is sponsored by Calor and the District and County Councils, Pennells of Lincoln and Tucann Design and Print.

A Lincolnshire village will be nominated for the nation-wide Calor Village of the Year ® competition, where it will compete with villages from over 45 counties for cash prizes of up to £10,500. The competition covers six categories of rural community life: older people, younger people, business, the environment, information communications technology, and community life.

More information about the Calor Village of the Year® competition is available from the Village of the Year website.