Best little High Street in the Land?
Langport has today been named as one of the country’s best high streets. It is one of just three communities to be shortlisted in the third national Great British High Street competition. Which is of course no mean feat. Because we are small (but perfectly formed) we are in the “village” section of the competition and have been nominated alongside Kirby Lonsdale in Cumbria and Pateley Bridge in the Yorkshire Dales.
This is no trivial achievement. This year, the competition which is run by the Department of Communities and Local Government, attracted over 900 entries. So good on little ol’ Langport for making it through this far!
The citation recognises the amazing turnaround of the community and its High Street since the disastrous floods of 2012/14. It is also worth noting that independent businesses making up over 90% of Langport’s high street which has been growing and improving its offering steadily over the last ten years. Today there are hardly any vacant units and with innovative businesses and the sort of shops that visitors simply don’t expect in a small town.
The award is a great opportunity to “put Langport on the map” but the rest is now up to you. The overall winner is determined by popular vote. This inevitably means the internet, but if you are reading this, then you’ll certainly be able to vote. All you have to do is follow the link below, page down until you see the “Village” category and click on the blue bar saying “VOTE”
On behalf of the Leveller we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to the Langport Area Business Group for putting together the successful bid. John Rice-Lewis, Chair of the Langport Area Business Group adds “This truly is a wonderful community effort. Everyone involved has worked so hard to make Langport a unique and interesting shopping destination. We all could not be prouder of our high street and are all thrilled at being in the finals of this competition“.