LISS has been crowned the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Village of the Year.
The award was handed out at the Hampshire Association of Local Councils (HALC) Village of the Year 2017 awards presentation evening, which was held at Lyndhurst Community Centre last Thursday evening.
The Village of the Year title capped an excellent evening for Liss, which won six awards in total.
The Triangle Community Centre won the Best Village Feature award, Liss won the Community Engagement award, Crossover Youth Centre won the Inspiring Places award, the Luncheon Club won an Excellence in Localism award, and Liss won another Excellence in Localism award for its work on the neighbourhood development plan.
Liss Parish Council vice-chairman Keith Budden said: “We thought we might have won something but we didn’t expect to win six awards, so we came away very pleased.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Village of the Year, and to have won the other awards.
“We had representatives from the parish council, the Triangle, the historical society, the luncheon club and Crossover Youth Centre at the awards on the night, so it was a good mix of people from the village.
“When we won the Community Engagement award we were really pleased, but to go and win the other awards was quite a surprise.
“It was much more rewarding because we weren’t expecting it. Had we known we would win it might not have had the same impact.
“Liss’ claim to fame is that we’re the hidden village, so it is good to get that recognition from outside the village.
“There is a real buzz in the village and a genuine sense of pride.
“The challenge now is what we do to build on this in the next 12 months.”