Brougshane bids for Village of Year

The village was selected on Saturday night’s episode of Village of the Year to represent the Central Zone which featured villages from across a wide area of England and Northern Ireland.

Broughshane joins the villages of Beer, in Devon, and Hampstead Norreys in the final this Saturday night, and the heats of the this week’s programmes will see a fourth contender representing the north of England and Scotland joining them.

Lexie Scott, Chairman of the village’s Community Association, said: “This is a very exciting time for the village.

“We have secured funding from the council and have applied for additional funding for it through the Rural Development Programme. It features as a priority in our new Village Plan. 

“We are working with council to try to take forward the plans to build a new community centre.”

The winner of the Village of the Year will secure £10,000 prize money, and Mr Scott explained the association intend to use this to help promote tourism in the area.

Broughshane, although no stranger to awards, has never featured on a national television programme and this has clearly added additional motivation to the many volunteers whose work makes the village the special place it is.

Tony Redmond, one of the founder members of the original community group, said: “For me the success which the village has enjoyed in the early stages of this competition is a fitting tribute to many, unsung, decent people who helped found the community association almost 50 years ago.”

He added: “Many are no longer with us but if we do manage to become Village of the Year then our success is in no small way down to their faithful commitment over the years.”

The final of Village of the Year will take place on Saturday, February 10.