NEWRY ’S positive qualities are in the spotlight this week as the city centre has just been shortlisted for the prestigious Great British High Street Award.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Residents and well-wishers can register their civic pride by voting for the city, to boost the national and international reputation of our unique shopping district. The city is one of only four Northern Ireland town centres to be shortlisted in the Rising Star category.,

Newry BID manager Eamonn Connolly, who applied for the award on Newry’s behalf, with the support of MP Mickey Brady, is confident that Newry has what it takes to be successful.

“Newry is a unique city. In terms of its location, its history and its size, it offers shoppers a very unique experience. The people and businesses are justifiably proud of the area,” Mr Connolly said.

“In the coming weeks, judges will descend on Newry to see what the hype is about. However, there is a huge role for the community to play because 20 percent of the final decision depends on votes.

“Make sure to vote so our city centre gets the recognition it deserves.”

Vote for Newry city centre as a Rising Star High Street. A vote takes only seconds. Simply visit thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk and click on vote. Only one vote per email per day is allowed.

Newry BID is a members’ representative group which promotes the interests of city centre businesses. It organises and runs programmes that try to deliver exceptional customer service and community events, plans community initiatives to reward customers and organises programmes which promote community pride and integration.

Since its inception in 2016 BID has worked with local businesses to improve the experience on the high street.

It has organised, in partnership with University of Ulster, research on the problems facing and the opportunities for businesses in Newry city centre and has provided free training for businesses on more than 70 training courses.

The BID leads on issues important to business such as an independent rates review, over 250 FREE parking spaces and begging mitigations initiatives.

It has been instrumental in tackling graffiti, littering and parking problems, having provided free parking on North Street and, cleaned more than 100 instances of graffiti and directed a large-scale clean-up of Newry canal over the past year.

Major projects in which BID has been instrumental are the Newry VIP shopper initiative, the city’s Christmas and Easter marketing campaigns, the shop front grant scheme, repainting many shops in Newry, the Formula One event in conjunction with First Derivatives, ongoing improvements to vacant units, Purple Flag status which indicates Newry’s safe nighttime economy, Trad Fest, Iur Cinn Tra festival and a vibrant mystery shopper scheme.