Blackburn needs your vote to be Britain’s best high street

Blackburn has today been named as one of the country’s best high streets by being shortlisted in the third annual Great British High Street competition.
 
Blackburn’s high street has been named as one of the top 3 in the ‘Town Centre of the Year’ category.
 
To be in with a chance of being crowned champion, the town needs the community to cast their vote for free via thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk before November.
 
This year’s competition saw a record 900 entries across all 14 categories, including the new categories for individuals and shops. Now the shortlist has been drawn up and the public has the chance to vote directly for their best-loved high street online.
 
Manager of the Blackburn BID, Harriet Roberts, said: “Blackburn is at an exciting point in its history and we really need the local community, businesses and organisations to get behind this campaign to be in with a chance of winning. The town centre has undergone a major transformation over the past few years and we are proud that Blackburn has been listed as one of the nation’s best high streets.”
 
If Blackburn wins, not only will they get a share of prize pot worth £100,000, but they’ll win expert training from Google’s digital taskforce for shops, bars and restaurants and a trip to Twitter UK’s London office to further boost their social media skills.
 
High Streets Minister Andrew Percy said: “Our high streets are the life and soul of towns, villages and cities across the country and the record number of competition entries, this year is proof of their continued importance to local life.
 
“From North London to Northumberland, great work is underway to adapt the high street to the needs of modern life.
 
“I want to wish all who’ve entered the very best of luck.”
 
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.
 
Councillor Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “The Great British High Street recognises that town centres are a vital part of our community and make an important contribution to the economy through the billions of pounds they generate and the thousands of jobs they support.

“Blackburn is full of interesting and creative shops and businesses and we are proud to have a great community spirit where businesses work together to promote each other. Recent years have seen an extraordinary transformation in the town centre of Blackburn – hardly a day goes by without someone telling me that the appearance has changed so much, they can’t believe they are in Blackburn.

“This transformation has not come about through luck. It is the result of a hugely impressive partnership between key players all dedicated to working to provide a changed experience for everyone who works, trades, shops and lives in the town. The good news is that this work is going to carry on as that change continues. We are proud to celebrate that Blackburn has a unique, welcoming identity which we truly believe sets us apart from other towns.”

To go online to cast your vote, visit the Great British High Street website and follow @TheGBHighSt on Twitter.

Voting closes in November.