Bognor Regis needs public’s help to be crowned Britain’s Best Improving Coastal Town
Bognor Regis needs public’s help to be crowned Britain’s Best Improving Coastal Town
Bognor Regis needs your votes in the national competition to be named as the best improving Coastal Town.
With just a few days to go before voting closes on 13 November, a rankings release by the Great British High Street Competition has revealed that in the Coastal Communities category, Bognor Regis has kept its position in third place.
But that could all change as the voting is extremely close – so keep on voting!
Winners in each of the seven categories get a share of a prize pot worth £80,000 which includes expert training and tailor-made tips from Google’s training taskforce for one hundred of their shops, bars and restaurants.
With the public vote making up 50% of the final decision, the team behind Bognor Regis high street are urging local people to get behind their bid for glory.
Toyubur Rahman, from Bognor Regis Bognor Regis Town Centre Management said:
“Being named a finalist in the Great British High Street competition has given a real boost to our town centre. The judges that came to the town were very impressed with Bognor Regis and the great strides we’ve made in the past few years.
“Now our town centre has been buzzing and we’re already feeling the benefits. But to win would mean the world to us. The voting is incredibly close and every vote counts. So please get your votes and vote every day until Friday 13th November!”
The Great British High Street Competition 2015 is run by the Department for Communities and Local Government and sponsored by Boots, Costa, Post Office, Marks and Spencer and Tesco.
Now in its second year and is one of a number of initiatives to help champion high streets as the cornerstones of the community.
These include a billion pound package of investment ranging from targeted business rate discounts, sensible planning changes and action that reins in over-zealous parking practices.
High Streets Minister Marcus Jones said:
“High streets are at the very heart of our communities and these awards celebrate the great innovative work happening on the ground to help them adapt and flourish.
“Bognor Regis did fantastically well to make it into the final three but now they need your help to get them the title of Britain’s best high street.
“Over 100, 000 votes have already been cast, but all is still to play for with two weeks of voting still to go. So get behind your high street by voting!”
This year’s competition saw a record 230 applicants and now, for the first time, the public has the chance to vote directly for their best-loved high street online.
Between now and 13 November you can cast your vote for free via thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk or on Facebook.
Four weeks in, over 100,000 votes have been cast.
Alongside the public vote each finalist will be visited by an expert judge – one of a panel of industry experts from the Future High Streets Forum. The judges have a 50% say on who wins the competition.
The twenty-one finalists for the Great British High Streets competition were announced on 1 October. Voting closes 13 November.
This year’s competition also sees prizes for the 10 ‘rising stars’ and special recognition awards to people or places that have made an invaluable contribution to their local high streets.
The first Great British High Street competition last year saw 135 communities battle it out to be crowned the nation’s best. Belper in Derbyshire emerged as the overall winner. Belper found that winning not only boosted town pride, but also had a tangible economic impact with retailers reporting increased footfall.
To go online to cast your vote, visit the Great British High Street website and follow @TheGBHighSt on Twitter.