Mel Stride MP joined local traders in Ashburton as the town enters the Great British High Street Awards 2018. The awards, sponsored by Visa, celebrate local achievements on our high streets and will encourage communities to share top tips to make their high streets a success, shining a light on great examples of how high streets can meet new challenges.
The 26 shortlisted entries in the Champion High Street category and 12 Rising Stars will be announced in October. They will then go through to a public vote and be visited by a judging panel made up of industry leaders from across retail, property and business. Britain’s best high street will be announced in November, with the winner receiving a £10,000 cash prize for a local community project.
Mel said:
“With more people shopping online and residents who commute to work often not getting back to their community before local shops close, many high streets are having a tough time. However, there are town councils and chambers of trade working really hard to come up with new initiatives to promote their towns and many communities in my constituency are bucking the trend with dozens of new businesses setting up in the last 12 months. I will get behind any town in my constituency that puts themselves forward for these awards and was delighted to do that for Ashburton today.”
Ashburton Post Office sub-postmaster Stuart Rogers added:
“Ashburton has a fantastic variety of independent shops and there’s no reason the town can’t do very well in this competition. We hope that local residents will give our nomination their full support.”
Community teams, councils and trading associations can register their local high streets by visiting www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk.
