SUPER SOUTHWATER

  VILLAGE OF THE YEAR

Last year, Southwater got through to the regional finals of the Calor Village of the Year Awards (category 3 - large village).  Encouraged by this, we were determined to try again this year and - we won the West Sussex Award for Best Large Village!

The focus this year was on the community and what we provide for the young and the older people among us, so we looked around us and found that there are many opportunities for both ends of the age spectrum to enjoy life to the full.  Came the day for the judges to visit and we had arranged for representatives from the many local groups to meet them and give brief presentations on what they do, not forgetting two children from the Junior School!  The judges then asked to be taken to see various places in the village such as the Village Hall and the Skateboard Park.

Obviously, they agreed with us that Southwater is a great place to live and we were overjoyed to learn in September that we had won!  The tangible  rewards were a framed certificate and £200 to spend on a project of our choosing but even better was the recognition of all the hard work and commitment of members of our village to ensuring that our community is served to the best of our ability.

We would heartily recommend other villages to enter this competition.  Whether or not you win, it does serve to focus on the good things available and encourage even more effort to get the best out of village life.