Judge 1

Just by leafing through the massive tome that is the Cockfield presentation document the Judges cannot fail to be overwhelmed by the activity and enthusiasm felt by residents for their lovely village.  The beautifully presented folder summarized handsomely the activities and in itself, demonstrates the pride the residents have in their village.

I liked the ambition that the village and community leaders have in wanting to further improve facilities – for example the open spaces, the computer club and local needs housing; not content to rest, all these areas are being looked at to gain increased space, equipment and meet future needs.

Always seeking new grants and sources of income to improve the village can be a difficult task, but the village seems to be highly successful and should be commended for this.

My only reason for not awarding Cockfield more highly on this occasion is that I felt there had not been a great enough change or further innovation since winning the competition in 2012.

Judge 2

Cockfield is indeed a green and pleasant village and maintains it standards well.  It is commendable that the smaller greens are maintained by the local residents. The improvements currently being carried out at the pavilion will greatly enhance this building for future events.

The dual use of the village hall, split between the school and the community is worthy of note.  The energy efficient heating system is also very impressive.

The monthly village magazine “green links” is very informative especially for newcomers to the village; the children’s page in the magazine is a very good feature.  It also nice to see the old village post office still going strong and selling such a wide range of goods, I also liked the idea of the jigsaw library.

Judge 3

Hard work and determination has made Earls Meadow and Bruffs Line a credit to the Village. Bruffs Line is an ideal location with not only wildlife and foliage and fauna, also houses a badger set.

Cockfield is a most pleasant village and sits very comfortably in this beautiful part of Suffolk.  The village school and the village hall work very well together being in such close proximity.

In this day and age it was a nice surprise to see both village store and post office still in being and also working – well done.

Judge 4

Without knowing exactly what has been achieved since Cockfield previous won this award, it is difficult to judge the recent from the existing.  However, overall this is an impressive community, with many residents very involved in organisations and activities within the village.  I like the fact that there are many businesses within the village and that there is local employment.  Whilst there is a broad demographic, like many small communities, there is a threat to the maintenance of the school roll as there are fewer children and fewer young families. Village facilities such as the hall and the greens, appear to be of a high standard and are well used. The Post Office provides a valuable community service, as does the excellent school.