Derby set to win best high street competition

Derby is the front runner to win the national competition to find Britain’s best high street.

With one week to go until voting closes, the final rankings release by the Great British High Street Competition has revealed that in the city category, Derby can’t be knocked off first place.

1. The Cathedral Quarter, Derby
2. Castle Arcade District, Norwich
3. Broadmead, Bristol

The public vote accounts for 50% of the final score but Derby will need to have impressed the judges during yesterday’s visit to make sure they stay top dog.

High Streets Minister Andrew Percy said: “Over 300,000 votes have been cast in the competition so far, proving that people are passionate about their high streets up and down the country.

“Derby did fantastically well to make it into the final three, but now every vote counts and they need an extra push to get them title of Britain’s best high street.”

The Great British High Street Competition 2016 celebrates the great work that is being done to revive, adapt and diversify the nation’s high streets. It is one of a number of initiatives to help champion high streets as the cornerstones of the community.

This year’s competition saw a record 900 entries across all 14 categories, including the new categories for individuals and shops.

The 27 finalists in the 9 categories for places were announced on 18 October. In the city category Derby is competing against Bristol and Norwich.

Winners in each category will get a share of a prize pot worth £100,000 and expert training from Google’s digital taskforce for shops, bars and restaurants, as well as a trip to Twitter UK’s London office to boost their social media skills.

Alongside the public’s votes shortlisted city centres have been inspected by judges from Revo, retail property experts. Both Derby and Norwich were visited on Thursday 10 November. The judges have a 50% say on who wins the competition.