Cathedral Quarter GBHS Scores Revealed
Derby Cathedral Quarter has now had the full feedback as to the reasons why it was crowned the best city location in the prestigious Great British High Street Awards.
The Cathedral Quarter received a total of 13,052 votes from members of the public and businesses making it the overall winner of the public vote.
In the judges’ vote, following a visit in November, the Business Improvement District (BID) scored 27 out of a possible 30 with full marks for its collaborations with key stakeholders and partnership working.
In the innovation section, the judges commended the Cathedral Quarter’s CQ Saturdays events programme, its prospectus to encourage new businesses and investment into the area and marketing materials produced by the BID.
The work of the Cathedral Quarter Rangers with businesses, visitors and statutory services such as Derbyshire Police was also given a special mention.
The outcomes category scored nine of ten with the judges highlighting the BID’s achievements in creating the now widely recognised Cathedral Quarter brand, winning national BID of the year in 2016 and its work in partnership with Marketing Derby to reduce vacancy rates by supporting existing businesses and attracting new independents and national retailers.
In conclusion, the judges said: “Derby has impressed us with its wide variety of retail outlets offering such a broad mix of commercial options.
“They should look to build on their successes by developing the use of digital methodologies across the Cathedral Quarter and making links to the train station corridor (Castleward) to bring even more people into the Cathedral Quarter.”
The prize money has also been confirmed as £5,000. Cathedral Quarter businesses will now be canvassed on a shortlist of options which are being developed by the Board and Management Group – made up of representatives of local businesses.
Businesses will also have the chance to attend training workshops – specially devised by Google to help them optimise their websites and online presence. Dates and times are currently in the process of being confirmed.
Furthermore, the Cathedral Quarter BID has been invited to share its marketing strategy with other towns and cities across the country as part of the Great British High Street’s Good Standards Guide due out later this year.
Martin Langsdale is chair of the Cathedral Management Group, which drives forward activities under the area’s BID status.
He said: “We are delighted with the feedback from the judges and particularly grateful to everyone who voted for us to win this prestigious award.
“None of this would have been possible if the local businesses had not voted to become a Business Improvement District to enable us to work together as a strong, single entity.
“We are currently investigating different options to spend the prize money to ensure that it has maximum benefit to the whole area and we are particularly looking forward to Google’s Digital Garage workshops which we plan to host in the coming months.”
For more information about all the events and businesses in the Cathedral Quarter, please visit www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk; follw on Twitter @DerbyCQ and ‘like’ the Facebook page CathedralQuarterDerby