19/11/2018 - Aberdeenshire town Turriff has been voted by the public as Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street, recognising the heritage, beauty and unique experience the town centre offers.
Members of the public were invited to choose from among a shortlist of entries, which also included Cupar, Denny, Inverurie, Jedburgh, and Linlithgow. Voting was very close, with Linlithgow and Inverurie being awarded 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Details on the full results are available below.
The shortlisted entries were selected by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful and national towns agency Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the competition organisers. The initiative recognises that high streets and town centres are the beating hearts of communities and celebrates the efforts made to make these spaces clean, attractive, accessible, vibrant and inclusive for all to enjoy.
Judging criteria took a broad understanding of the word “beautiful”, and entries were considered on factors including horticultural achievement, public realm, environmental responsibility, community participation, and access and inclusivity.
Turriff’s entry highlighted the town’s numerous heritage sites, horticultural beauty, and community initiatives, including the emblematic ‘Turra Coo’ sculpture. Turriff Business Association, which submitted the entry, stated that: “Turriff ‘s High Street/Main Street is very lucky to host a vibrant, unique shopping experience, a wonderful heritage and a high standard of care and cleanliness that reflects the pride we have in our town”.
Representatives of the winning entry have been invited to attend the forthcoming meeting of the Cross Party Group on Towns and Town Centres at the Scottish Parliament, where they will be presented with a prize certificate and congratulated by MSPs and other town stakeholders.
The announcement also comes at the beginning of Scotland’s Towns Week (19-25 November), the annual national campaign to celebrate the country’s towns and city districts. Coordinated by Scotland’s Towns Partnership, both national and local organisations are invited to promote the ‘Keep It Local’ message, share what’s going on in their area, and highlight what makes their local communities special. More information is available on the STP website: https://www.scotlandstowns.org/.
Rose Logan, Vice Chair, Turriff Business Association, said: “On behalf of Turriff Business Association and the Turriff community, I would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all those who voted for us in the Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street competition. The standard of entries was very high and we are absolutely delighted to have won this award. There is a tremendous community spirit and involvement within Turriff and the surrounding district and without their support this achievement would not have been possible”.
Pete Leonard, Operations Director at Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented:
“Congratulations to Turriff and to all the entrants of this year’s Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street Competition. The standard was particularly high this year and we are delighted to see so many communities actively taking a role in looking after the places where they live and work.
“We know that good quality environments have many benefits – not only for businesses but our health and wellbeing too. By working together, we can all enjoy cleaner, greener and more sustainable spaces.”
Phil Prentice, Chief Officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership said:
“STP would like to commend all entries to this year’s competition for the passion and dedication shown to their local communities. I also give particular congratulations to Turriff whose submission was very deserving of the title.
Scotland's Towns and smaller settlements account for 70% of our population. Aside from their significant economic contribution in terms of commerce and employment, they provide a living record of our history and heritage. We need to celebrate our towns and empower our communities to ensure that Scotland's towns remain vibrant and continue to play a vital role in our nation's future.”
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Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street 2018: Results |
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Place |
Town |
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1st |
Turriff |
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2nd |
Linlithgow |
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3rd |
Inverurie |
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4th |
Cupar |
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5th |
Denny |
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6th |
Jedburgh |
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For full details of the vote and to view each entry, visit: https://www.scotlandstowns.org/scotlands_most_beautiful_high_street |
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ENDS
Competition webpage: https://www.scotlandstowns.org/scotlands_most_beautiful_high_street
Shortlisted entries: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/stpfiles/Scotland's+Most+Beautiful+High+Street/2018+Shortlist/SMBHS+Formatted+Shortlist_Final.pdf
Keep Scotland Beautiful: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/
Scotland’s Towns Partnership: https://www.scotlandstowns.org/
Supporting Scotland's Towns