Hinckley behind in high street contest
Still time to vote for your town
HINCKLEY is lagging in last place in the national consumerled competition to reveal the country’s best places for shopping and leisure.
The town is behind Bridgnorth in Shropshire and Market Harborough in the public voting for the Government backed Great British High Street contest.
Now a rallying call has been issued for local people to get behind Hinckley which was shortlisted in the Large Market Town category.
The public vote makes up 50% of the final decision and there are just over two weeks to go before voting closes on November 18.
On the competition website it describes Hinckley as: “A bustling market town brimming with national and independent traders which is transforming itself to deliver new housing and jobs in the town.
“Through close and genuine partnership work, the high street is going from strength to strength.”
People can vote quickly and easily online at thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk but must input their email address. Only one vote per email address will be counted per day - which means you can vote every day if you like.
Bill Cullen, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s chief executive designate, said: “Hinckley stands to secure national recognition for its work in transforming our town centre as part of the Great British High Street Awards.
“We would urge our residents and businesses and all their staff to give their vote as a show of support for our great town.
“We understand we are currently running third against the other two towns shortlisted so your vote can really make a difference.”
The council has invested millions in boosting the town centre, with The Crescent development, the new leisure centre at Argents Mead, free parking initiatives and most recently the purchase of the closed-down Co-op building and car park.
High Streets Minister Andrew Percy said: “More than 100,000 votes have been cast in the com- petition so far proving that people are passionate about their high streets up and down the country.
“Hinckley did fantastically well to make it into the final three but now every vote counts and they need an extra push to get them the title of Britain’s best high street.”
The competition, which this year received a record 900 entries across 14 categories, celebrates the sterling work 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.
Winners in each category will get a cash boost of up to £10,000 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 learn how to boost their social media skills.
Alongside the public’s votes the high streets shortlisted in the large market town category will also be inspected by judges from retailer Wilko. The judges have a 50% say on who wins the competition.