Britain's high streets may be having the toughest time for decades, but all is not lost.
Across the country, there are many examples of places that are thriving thanks to individuals who have brought about great change.
Four of them have been honoured in the Daily Mirror-backed High Street Hero Awards, part of the Great British High Street Awards in partnership with Visa.
The Government-run awards named The Square, in Kelso in the Scottish Borders, as Rising Star of the Year, and Treorchy in Wales was High Street of the Year.
Visa’s Jeni Mundy, managing director UK & Ireland, said: “We’re thrilled to showcase unsung heroes.”
Here’s our round-up of the winners…
England
Laura Armstrong juggles being a mum of two plus running a couple of businesses with spearheading a drive to promote Belper.
The 38-year-old was the force behind Love Belper, an initiative to plug the market town at the heart of the Derwent Valley.
Her team put on events and produced a customer friendly map of the town. The Love Belper website has been a big hit, too.
“There’s hardly an empty shop,” says Laura, who runs a menswear shop and a cleaning business.
Wales
Treorchy may be within the stunning Rhondda Valley, but the loss of the coal industry and factories devastated the area.
Adrian Emmett, 39, returned to reopen a pub, The Lion, in 2011, which has won a host of awards.
He also took over as chair
of Treorchy’s Chamber of Trade, growing its membership from 30 to 120.
Nearly every shop in the town centre is now occupied.
Adrian, who helped organise the first Rhondda Arts Festival, says: “Towns need to come together.”
Scotland
Alison Boa has managed to do amazing things in the tiny space that is her souvenir shop Walter & Betty in Aberfoyle, Perthshire.
She opened it in May 2018 and soon helped two women set up pop-up stalls – one selling cakes and jam, the other clay models outside the shop’s front.
The pair
now share a shop on the Main Street, where Alison tends flower beds and plant tubs.
“We don’t have a road sweeper,” says Alison, 47. “It’s important to pick up litter and brush the streets.”
Northern Ireland
Geraldine Lawless is involved in 10 organisations in Portadown, Co Armagh. No wonder she says: “It keeps me busy seven days a week.”
One of her proudest efforts has been helping disabled people get back into work, or to find work.
She is involved in the Portadown Chamber of Commerce and is director of Portadown Credit, a
credit union.
Geraldine, who runs Portadown 2000, the charity behind the local Millennium Arts Centre, says: “The community is there for everybody.”
