Narberth High Street has been shortlisted in the ‘Great British High Street Awards’ - with the town’s Mayor encouraging everyone to vote to make the thriving town a ‘Champion’ for 2019.

After a rigorous selection process led by a panel of independent judges, the town will compete in the ‘Champion’ High Street Award alongside 11 other places across.

The awards recognises the UK’s best high streets with exceptionally strong local communities who are leading the way to the high streets of the future - judged on the four pillars of success: Customer Service, Digital Transformation, Environment and Innovation.

Run by The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in proud partnership with Visa and backed by other partners, the awards look to celebrate the communities that are working to revive local high streets.

High Streets Minister Jake Berry MP has confirmed the high streets shortlisted putting them in the running to win a £15,000 prize. Swansea and Treorchy are the other two places from Wales to make the shortlist.

The announcement comes as new research has found that seven out of ten consumers say that shopping locally makes them feel happy, with over a third citing supporting local shops and knowing where their money is going as the main reason.

Jake Berry MP said: “Congratulations to the shortlisted nominees for this year’s Great British High Street Awards – the quality of the entries this year has been fantastic.

“High streets make people happier, and people want to see their hard-earned cash supporting the local economy. That is why we are celebrating those that go above and beyond to keep their high streets thriving for generations to come.

“Inspiring high streets like these will play a key role in the Government’s vision to boost local growth and level up our regions.”

Sundeep Kaur, Head of UK and Ireland Merchant Services at Visa, who commissioned the research, added: “We’ve seen some fantastic entries for this year’s Great British High Street Awards across both the Champion High Street and Rising Star categories.

“In particular, the desire to innovate stands out amongst this year’s entries, with high streets adapting to the challenges presented by a rapidly changing retail environment to find ways to thrive at a local level.

“As our research shows, high streets play a vital role at the heart of communities, so this is a great opportunity for those communities with shortlisted high streets to show their support by placing their votes on the Great British High Street website.”

Mayor of Narberth, Clr. Chris Walters said: “Narberth is a thriving town. We have an excellent Chamber of Trade who are committed to put Narberth on the map, a fantastic community which supports local business and without doubt, a beautiful location for tourists and visitors to enjoy at leisure.

“Our High Street does see its challenges now and again but overall is doing extremely well and thriving every day.

“On behalf of Naberth Town Council - I congratulate all businesses getting behind the ‘Great British High Street’.

“I encourage everyone to go online and vote for Narberth! The best high street in Wales!”

Those interested in participating in the public vote can visit www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk for more information. Voting closes October 7.