Judges' Comments on the entry from Shipham Parish Council.
The judges consider Shipham Parish Council very worthy and imaginative winners of the competition award for Communications.
Whilst the delivery of eight issues of a parish plan newsletter to every household in the past two years is impressive, it was clear to the judges that there is something more to effective communications in Shipham than just this formal example.
The judges were impressed with the drive to establish and run the volunteers' community cafe, providing a welcome to all and also the community car scheme, catering for those in need of transport, particularly the elderly.
With the new village hall now fully established (and fully booked) the opportunity for "face to face" community communications is now very effectively established.
Successful intergenerational communication is very obviously a hallmark of the Shipham community and the amazing strength of projects such as the Shipham Players readily provide people of all ages with a joyous opportunity to build relationships and prosper locally.
This also provides an opportunity for people from outside the parish to enjoy something of the "Shipham Experience" - although do not delay in buying a ticket - a few hours from box office opening and the tickets will be assuredly sold out!
The successful completion of the Village Plan was noted by the judges and this year's housing needs survey will further cater for the development of Shipham's thriving community.
Again with an emphasis on inclusiveness (as well as achievement), the judges were captivated by the explained community building potentials arising from having a severely sloping football pitch and Shipham teams that were determined to impress the opposition by a variety of methods (usually excluding the scoring of goals).