Village in line to scoop title of '˜Britain's best high street'

A village in Sussex is in the running to win up to £10,000 in prize money as part of a nationwide search for Britain's best high streets.
Storrington village signStorrington village sign
Storrington village sign

Storrington is among the first 15 applicants in a national government-backed competition celebrating individual communities’ efforts to revitalise their local areas.

In Storrington this includes running an annual flower competition, Christmas market, book sales for charity, a weekly bakery stand and several international markets with part closures of high street and neighbouring roads.

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Alongside the cash prize, Google have joined the search and are offering all category winners a visit from The Digital Garage on Tour – a skills training workshop for retailers and small businesses.

Government High Streets Minister Andrew Percy said: “Last year’s competition was a massive success, helping to showcase the very best high streets across the country, with thousands of votes cast and winning high streets reporting an increase in shoppers.

“Our local high streets remain the life and soul of towns, villages and cities across the country and I’d encourage as many of them as possible to enter this year’s competition.”

The competition is also looking for individuals to win a ‘high street hero’ award. With categories for store managers and employees from national or independent retailers to ‘under 25’s’ and market traders, high streets are able to enter the individuals who are making a difference to their local community.

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Nominations for both places and individuals are now open across England, Wales and Scotland. The top 3 shortlisted in each category will be announced in October. They will then go through to a public online vote and be visited by the Future High Streets Forum judging panel made up of industry leaders from across retail, property and business.

The Great British High Street competition is run by the Department for Communities and Local Government and sponsored by Boots, the British Council of Shopping Centres, Ellandi, Holland and Barratt, Marks and Spencer, the Post Office and Wilko.

Details about the competition can be found at: www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk The deadline for entries is September 9.