Voting is open to crown the Great British High Street of 2019 – and Grimsby’s Freeman Street Market is in the final.
The awards highlight the ways in which high streets are succeeding in overcoming the challenges of a rapidly changing environment.
The market is a finalist in the Champion Awards category. Vote here for Grimsby – and the good news is you can vote once a day, every day, until the competition closes on October 7.
Leader of the council, Councillor Philip Jackson, said: “At last it’s good to see a revival of Freeman Street thanks to the transformational work that the Enrolled Freemen and their partners are doing.
“Many of the old, derelict buildings have now been demolished and there are some exciting proposals for the cleared sites. There are many individual, specialist shops along the rest of Freeman Street and the Market itself is going from strength to strength.”
The entry for the competition reads: “Freeman Street Market is a centre for shopping with an unmistakable sense of community. Thanks to the investment of the Enrolled Freemen of Grimsby, it boasts a healthy 85% occupancy rate. The market space plays host to record fairs, circus workshops, film screenings, art exhibitions, DWP’s job fair, local councillors and MPs surgeries and more.
“There is also an enterprise shop where children can sell their own produce, encouraging young people to engage with the community. Furthermore, the area caters for groups with special needs including a space to allow children with autism to escape the busy market.
“The ethos is to be a community-driven market, working with local partners. Grimsby and Cleethorpes Craft Fair also hold events every month for which traders are not charged for the space so as to attract footfall for the benefit of the traders and the community as a whole. Reducing their impact on the environment, solar panels feature on the roof of Freeman Street and low energy lighting used within.
“Plus plans are underway for a cycle storage facility. And thanks to the Freemen’s first female apprentice, social media presence has been transformed, with the market recently winning two awards for their Love Your Local Market 2019 campaign.”
So get voting… here’s the link once again. Photo courtesy of The Great British High Street 2019.
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