Could your village be GRCC’s Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026?
Today marks the start of the search for Gloucestershire’s most vibrant and inclusive community, as GRCC launches its Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026 competition. This is an opportunity for communities to show that they are proactive, caring and, irrespective of size, making the best of local opportunities to sustain or enhance the quality of life for all their residents.
The competition is open to villages with a parish council or parish meeting, with a total population of under 4,000 . Entry forms are available to download here , and the deadline for entries is Monday 18 th May 2026.
Villages will be judged on five categories:
- Community Led Health and Wellbeing (Including Mental Health)
- Climate & Environment (Resilience)
- Volunteering & Skills in the Community
- Digital
- High Sheriff’s Young Person’s Overcoming Adversity Award
There is a total of £15,000 in prize money available.
After the judges’ visits have taken place in June, representatives from the shortlisted communities will be invited to the awards ceremony in July at the prestigious Highnam Court, where the achievements of those who have taken part will be celebrated and the winners announced. A cheque for £2,000 with a framed certificate and plaque will be awarded to the overall winner, and to each of the individual category winners. The overall runner-up, and the four category runners-up, will each receive £1,000 and a framed certificate and a plaque. This year’s competition also features a special award from the High Sheriff for a young person overcoming adversity.
GRCC is proud to be partnering with Cotswold District Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Freeman Homes and the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire again, and welcoming new sponsors Gloucestershire Employment and Skills Hub and the Royal Agricultural University. We are also lucky to have the support of Renishaw, B & Q, the local media and Cotswold Life. All entries will be automatically entered into the Grand Prize Draw with the chance to win prizes worth over £500 donated by B&Q in Gloucester.
Barbara Piranty, GRCC’s CEO said, " Last year’s awards ceremony was an inspiring celebration of the incredible work happening across Gloucestershire. I wholeheartedly encourage villages to submit an entry. It doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming, simply tell us about the great things you’re already doing. By entering, you’ll not only shine a light on your community’s achievements, but you could also win the Grand Prize Draw just for taking part, so why not give it a go? At a time when so much is changing around us, this is a valuable opportunity to pause, reflect, and celebrate what makes your community special, including those who work so hard to make it thrive."
A member of the team who put together last year's winning entry for Painswick added: "If any village thinks they might like to enter the competition, they should just give it a go and not worry about being ‘ready’ or ‘perfect’. We’d encourage other villages to enter this year, as even on our working group, several people felt that we weren’t yet ready, but we did it anyway as a learning opportunity to find ways to improve ."
Painswick Parish Clerk Roy Balgobin said " Although we were the winners last year, we’re not complacent, we’re always looking for ways to improve the village. We’re not sitting on our laurels."
" For example, we do really need more digital support in the village ," said Painswick Parish Councillor Fiona Mackenzie-Jenkin. " The entry form is a really useful blueprint for how a village should be, because the competition isn't about how pretty the place is, it's about everything that a community needs to be a supportive and inclusive place to live."
The GRCC team are on hand to advise on the completion of entry forms and can be contacted via info@grcc.org.uk or by calling 01452 528491.
Please bookmark our dedicated Village of the Year 2026 website page to keep up to date with the competition - www.grcc.org.uk/voty-2026
Download your 2026 Village of the Year entry form here.
Caption for the photo above: left to right, Roy Balgobin Painswick Parish Council Clerk, Barbara Piranty GRCC CEO, Steve Moore GRCC Community Development Officer, Duncan McGaw GRCC Trustee, David Little Painswick Beacon Conservation Group, Delyth Allen Painswick Community Support Group, pictured at Painswick in St Mary's Churchyard at the launch of GRCC's Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026 Competition on 24th February 2026. Painswick was the overall winner of Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2025.
