Derby Cathedral Quarter Clinches Coveted Great British High Street Title

Derby Cathedral Quarter has been named the city location winner of the prestigious Great British High Street Awards 2016.

Having consistently been in the lead in the public online vote and having hosted a judges’ visit last month, the Cathedral Quarter beat off stiff competition from Broadmead in Bristol and the Castle Arcade district of Norwich to clinch the coveted title.

Businesses in the Cathedral Quarter will now benefit from a cash prize of up to £10,000, access to dedicated support and mentoring from Google’s digital taskforce for shops, bars and restaurants; and social media skills gleaned from a trip to Twitter UK’s London office. The award was presented by the category’s judge Ed Locke from retail property body Revo at a central London ceremony.  It was collected on behalf of the Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) by Ian Ferguson and Ashley Lewis from Partnerships for Better Business who are contract managers for the BID and submitted the award application.

Partnerships for Better Business Director Ian Ferguson said: “This award has capped off a fantastic year for the Cathedral Quarter. “As contract managers for the BID, we entered the Cathedral Quarter into the Association of Town and City Management Awards earlier this year and were named best national BID. “Collecting the Great British High Street award so soon afterwards shows just how far the Cathedral Quarter has come in the eight years since the BID was launched. “This second national title will really help to put the Cathedral Quarter on the map for visitors and potential investors alike.”

Martin Langsdale, chair of the Cathedral Quarter Board and Management Group, which drives forward activities under the area’s BID status, continued: “This award proves that the BID programme over the past eight years to improve the visitor experience, promote the area and encourage inward investment has paid off. “We need to remember that without the BID, the Cathedral Quarter as an identity would not exist and that all the projects delivered in its name have been delivered by the BID. “The Cathedral Quarter is now a recognisable brand and a high quality lifestyle destination – combining the strengths of retail, leisure, culture and professional services and is valued by businesses and visitors alike. “The businesses really got behind this campaign to be named as a Great British High Street and the award is testament to their hard work and loyalty to the area. “We are all extremely grateful to the members of the public who voted for us and the judges who took the time to tour the area and meet some of our individual, diverse and inspiring business owners who make this area so great.”

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. It is sponsored by British Land, the Post Office, Holland and Barratt, Boots UK, Google UK, Marks & Spencer, Wilko, Revo and Ellandi.

For more information about the Cathedral Quarter, please visit www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk, like the Facebook page CathedralQuarterDerby and follow on Twitter @DerbyCQ.

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