Best Kept Village and Community (BKVC)
BKVC are proud winners of not just this year’s Best Kept Large Village (South), but OVERALL winners of the Best Kept Village and Community Awards for Staffordshire!
Gnosall scored 98 per cent for both appearance and community spirit, with judges highlighting the dedicated volunteers behind a wide range of projects and events throughout the year. The overall winner takes home £1,000 in prize money to spend on village projects.
Laura Pearson, Gnosall’s BKVC lead, said: “BKVC has brought the community together and it is great to be part of this village. There is something for everyone of all ages, including community groups, organisations and drop-in activities.
“I have lived in Gnosall for six years and I have changed as a person because of this community. It is a very proud moment for me and for the village, and this award means everything to us.”
And it wasn’t just BKVC that won, but two local Gnosall lads, the Woodward brothers, who help out at every opportunity, won the Trailblazer award, and Odin was runner up in the 5-7yr poster competition.
BKV truly is a village-wide community action group, under the dedicated and inspirational leadership of Laura Pearson, the group of dedicated volunteers is small for the size of the parish, but manages to achieve amazing results. It is entirely volunteer-led and right at the front is Laura (usually spotted in her high-viz) looking to see that all is well, things are tidy, plans are progressing and so on.
The BKV group is partly funded through the Parish Council but also raises a lot of money for BKVC from local individuals and businesses. Local businesses support the group by means of donations, sponsoring specific projects and sponsoring hanging baskets around the village. The group also host quarterly Swap Shops, helping keep the village sustainable, organise and run the Santa visits around the village in December and usually host a family day each summer in conjunction with the Gnosall Sports and Social Club.
The group engenders a tremendous community spirit, with something for all ages and encourages residents of all ages to take part in keeping the village looking its best. Laura organises regular work parties to do specific tasks, but many volunteers opt to ‘adopt’ a patch or job that they can manage in their own time.
BKV certainly brings our village together and makes it a much better place to live. In Gnosall, BKVC is not just about the way the village looks; it’s about the way the village community feels about itself and the first place prize is very much deserved.
