Bratton is officially the best kept large village in Wiltshire – again!

BRATTON has once again been crowned the winner in the large village category of the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s (CPRE) Best Kept Village competition and the people who have been hard at work keeping the village tidy have been celebrating the result.

CPRE’s competition sees expert judges visit 30 villages around the county to test them against the competition criteria which include tidiness, cleanliness, presentation, conservation and village community spirit.

Last year Bratton also won the Laurence Kitching Award, also called the Winner of Winners’ award, as due to CPRE rules, they were unable to enter the main competition having won it in 2019 and so were put into a competition with fellow winners.

This year they were judged by a different pair of judges, who found they had maintained their high standard.  Amongst their comments the judges said that, “The Tidy Bratton Group obviously do an excellent job and we saw evidence of this on our visit.” They also commented very favourably on many aspects including the footpaths, the church and chapel surrounds, the recreation ground, the village green, the new website and the orchard.

The Tidy Bratton team say, “Bratton benefits from having a lively community and many organisations providing different interests. It’s the fact that so many people are involved in the various aspects of our village which makes it such a great place to live. In order to meet the requirements for the competition, the community works together to make our village the best that it can be.

“The village has groups of volunteers who work to keep the village looking good; the Monday gang who maintain St James’ churchyard, the orchard group who maintain the community orchard, the Tidy Bratton Group who work to keep the village looking good, those who maintain the war memorial and the phone box and the grounds team at the recreation ground. The work of all these groups is supported by our excellent parish steward. Bratton has a great community spirit.”

The judges report says, “In spite of being such a large and diverse village and on a main road, the parts that the judges were asked to look at were beautifully kept and it was obvious that those living in Bratton took great pride in their community.”

Wiltshire councillor for the area, Suzanne Wickham added, “Bratton Tidy Group are dedicated residents who don’t just pick up litter, but also tidy overhanging vegetation and clear weeds from public areas. They work consistently to keep the village clean and tidy for the good of all residents and visitors.  Winning the best kept village competition once again, is testament to the community spirit in Bratton.”

Cllr Keith Rayward of Bratton Parish Council said, “The Bratton Tidy Group have been doing excellent work each month, but what is so special about this village is that people who aren’t even part of the team do their bit – just last week I noticed a couple walking around with a bin bag, cleaning up an area of the village off of their own backs. The community spirit in Bratton is strong.”

Bratton will be presented with, and keep for a year, an eight-foot standard with mounted shield, to be placed on their village green and an award ceremony will take place on Sunday 24th September where the Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sarah-Jane Troughton, will pull away the Union Flag surmounting the shield; commemorative plaques will also be presented by both Pawel Kisielewski, chief executive of CCm Technologies who sponsored the competition, and by a senior member of Wiltshire Council.