ROLVENDEN'S recent award as Kent's Calor Business Village of the Year was based on some surprising statistics.

Villager Brian Mitchell spent months checking on enterprises in the community of 1800 people near Tenterden.

He discovered a staggering 80 companies operating within the village boundaries.

And they fall into a a wide range of different categories: 25 agriculture and food, 19 trade, 10 professions, 11 arts and creative, four home and garden, six tourism, five retail, and two social.

Brian's conclusion was that people in the village supported each other and the number of businesses showed a good formula for rural survival.