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The top UK high streets
The top UK high streets |
| Written by Jonathan Malory | |
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Yorkshire Post Today The highs and lows for street cred Paul Jeeves York's Stonegate, Otley Road in Headlingley and Hebden Bridge's Market Street were nominated in the title race, but none of them figured among the highest ranked locations in the contest which saw The Promenade in Cheltenham come out with the top spot. Cheltenham won the award with 35 per cent of the overall vote, overcoming competition from 24 other high streets across the country. Otley Road was the highest placed Yorkshire location at number 12 in the competition results announced today. Stonegate came in at number 13, while Hebden Bridge's Market Street was ranked at number 23. Leeds Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Harris, who shares the role of the leader of Leeds Council with Conservative councillor, Andrew Carter, said the city's remarkable transformation in the last two decades warranted its listing in the top 25. However, he maintained that Otley Road should not be viewed as a simple one-off and pointed towards some of Leeds's most renowned shopping districts, such as the Victoria Quarter, for securing the city's reputation as a burgeoning centre of retail. Coun Harris added: "Obviously it would have been nice for Otley Road to come higher up, but it is clearly the best liked of Yorkshire's high streets. "It reflects the position of Leeds as a city in the national psyche. "If you had carried out a similar survey 15 years ago, it would have been telling to ask whether Leeds would have featured at all. The answer would undoubtedly have been no. "It is great that Otley Road has been nominated, but there are plenty of other places in the city which deserve recognition as well." The contest was organised by Touch Local, the UK's second largest search directory. A panel of judges selected the best entries for the shortlist from the high streets nominated by tourist boards around the country. Tony Piedade, commercial director of TouchLocal, said: "The competition was extremely close but Cheltenham was the ultimate winner. "All of the high streets were worthy of the title and we had some very enthusiastic supporters voting for their own." THE TOP 25... THE top 25 high streets in Britain were ranked as follows: 1. Cheltenham, The Promenade. 2. Leamington Spa, The Parade. 3. Market Harborough, High Street. 4. Leicester, Loseby Lane. 5. Keswick, Market Square. 6. Durham, Market Square. 7. Glasgow, Pollokshaws Road. 8. Bath, Milsom Street. 9. Cambridge, King's Parade. 10. Bristol, Park Street. 11. Norwich, Gentleman's Walk. 12. Headingley, Otley Road. 13. York, Stonegate. 14. London, The Kings Road. 15. Marlow, High Street. 16. Edinburgh, Royal Mile. 17. Brighton, Western Road. 18. Manchester, Oldham Street. 19. Winchester, High Street. 20. Cardiff, St. Mary's Street. 21. Canterbury, High Street. 22. Lymington, High Street. 23. Hebden Bridge, Market Street. 24. London, Stoke Newington Church Street. 25. Lewes, High Street. |