Best Kept Village winners 2022

Beautiful Ropsley and Welby have taken top honours in this year’s South Kesteven District Council Best Kept Village competition.

Allington was judged second in the large village category, with Barrowby third. Stubton took second place in the small village awards with Witham on the Hill third.

Winning villages will receive cheques in appreciation of residents’ work and community spirit, with £400 for the top award, £300 for second and £200 for third, paid to their Parish Councils.

The top two villages will also receive a gold-coloured litter bin.

Cllr Rosemary Trollope-Bellew, Cabinet Member for Culture and the Visitor Economy, said: “We are delighted to recognise the community pride and work that goes into keeping our villages looking so special and reward the increasing levels of participation that we have seen this year. It all helps our commitment to make the district a vibrant place to live, work and visit.

“I know that our winners last year were planning to invest in improvements, a commitment illustrated by the residents of Welby, who asked for judges’ comments following last year’s competition where they came third in their category. Clearly they have acted on that feedback and we are delighted to see them top the league of small villages.

“Our assessments are also a valuable way to inform the council of areas that might need attention from our street scene teams.”

Judges, helped by the Lincolnshire Gardens Trust for the final stages, assessed more than 100 villages to monitor a range of criteria including village facilities, grounds maintenance and street scene, front gardens and evidence of community pride and ownership. The condition of most villages was exceptionally high and posed a real challenge to judges to determine winners.

The two competition categories are judged on large villages with 501-5,000 residents and small villages with populations between 100-500 residents.

Winners are expected to receive their gold bins and certificates in October.