Hemel Hempstead needs your vote to win crown of UK's Best high street

With one week to go until voting closes, the final rankings release by the Great British High Street Competition has revealed that in the town centre category,

Banbury has overtaken Blackburn to storm into first place.

1. Banbury, Oxfordshire

2. Blackburn, Lancashire

3. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

However, with the public vote making up 50% of final decision and one week to gountil voting closes, that could all change.

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.

“Hemel Hempstead 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 27 finalists in the 9 categories for places were announced on 18 October. In the town centre category, Blackburn is competing against Banbury and

Hemel Hempstead.

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 town centres have been inspected by judges from British Land, an industry leader in retail. The judges have a 50% say on who

wins the competition.