Bridgnorth is front runner in the Great British High Street competition

With one week to go until voting closes, Bridgnorth remains in the lead for the public vote in the Great British High Street competition.

With the public vote making up 50% of final decision, the team behind Bridgnorth’s entry are urging local people to get behind their bid for glory.

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.

“Bridgnorth 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 twenty-seven finalists in the 9 categories for places were announced on 18 October. In the large market town category, Bridgnorth in Shropshire is competing against Hinckley and Market Harborough, both in Leicestershire.

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 ‘large market town’ high streets have been inspected by judges from Wilko, an industry leader in retail. The judges score accounts for 50% of the final decision.

Between now and 18 November you can cast your vote for free via thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk and follow @TheGBHighSt on Twitter.