Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes:
Amongst the clatter of politics and campaigning one of the projects the Alliance is proudest of is the Countryside Alliance Awards. The awards ceremony, held in April in the House of Lords, is always an extraordinary gathering of wonderful, committed rural people and one of the highlights of our year.
The Awards, also known as the 'Rural Oscars', are especially good at identifying those individuals and businesses which go the extra mile in supporting rural communities and the economy that supports them. I have a great mental database of excellent village shops, butchers, food producers and farm diversifications built up over more than 10 years.
Last year we received over 7,000 nominations which were whittled down to the individual winners celebrated in Westminster. This year we are adding a new category 'Britain's Best Pub' to help highlight great businesses bucking the trend of pub closures across the countryside.
Nominations are now open here for all categories: