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The eight winners were announced at a ceremony held yesterday (Wednesday 13 March) at the House of Lords.
This competition is run by Visa, and supported by the British Retail Consortium. Weston-super-Mare was named a winner for the Business Environment category, which recognises towns that are working hard to build vibrant business networks and support local businesses so they can grow and thrive.
Eight towns won in total (two per category). They will each receive a £15k prize to put towards a community project that will benefit the town, as well as access to help and support for local businesses.
Councillor Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for spatial planning, placemaking and economy, said: “It’s fantastic news that Weston-super-Mare has won the national ‘Let’s Celebrate Towns’ award.
“The fact that our town has been recognised out of the scores of places that applied across the country highlights the incredible work our local businesses, the council and community partners do to help realise our vision of building an environment for businesses to start-up, scale up and thrive.
“There’s a huge range of support on offer to local businesses – from the Business Support Unlocked programme, which offers free support to people looking to start their own businesses, or in the early stages of starting a company; to the Food Works SW, a nationally renowned food and drink innovation centre that offers technical support and product development opportunities.
“We’re also committed to creating vibrant business networks, putting in significant investment so that we can develop new and modern workspaces, such as the popular We are Super co-working space.
“We’ve got lots of ideas about how we might spend the £15k prize money to further benefit the town. We’re keen to hear from the local community and find out what projects mean the most to our residents, so watch this space.”
Angela Hicks, chair of the Weston-super-Mare Placemaking Board, said: “I am delighted that Weston-super-Mare has won this award. We have so many local partners and residents working together, committed to collaborative leadership and delivering exciting projects and new opportunities, and it’s a joy to be part of such a supportive community.
“Our collective strategy for the town sets out a 10-year programme of project delivery to enable Weston-super-Mare to become a healthier, greener and more prosperous place to live, work, invest and play. This award helps amplify and showcase what has been achieved so far.”