THE final push is on in Cardigan’s bid for success in the Great British High Street Awards 2018.

Cardigan High Street, including Pendre and Priory Street, has been shortlisted from more than 150 applications in the Rising Star category of the Awards, which aims to find the UK’s most ambitious high street.

Local councillor Clive Davies has also been nominated in the High Street Hero category for his work in driving the town app, free Wi-Fi and street furniture projects.

After a rigorous selection process, Cardigan High Street was chosen by an independent judging panel as one of 12 candidate streets to be shortlisted for the award.

Cardigan is up against Cowbridge and Narberth in its category and every vote counts.

An expert judging panel for the competition is due to visit Cardigan on Monday, October 22, to have a look around to see what is on offer, while 30 per cent of the final scoring depends on social media coverage by the town on this competition and giving a flavour of Cardigan High Street from the traders/shop perspective and the shoppers/visitors to the town.

Cllr Davies said: “Everyone needs to vote for the town using the hash tag #GBHSCardigan on any post they create on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Retweets and shares with no comments don’t register as a vote.

“Cardigan needs to get social, the more we do across as many platforms the better coverage for encouraging people to vote for us and visit us in future.

“We have had great support with some of the shops running competitions using the tag to enter for the prizes on offer. Keep going.”

Those interested in participating in the public vote can visit www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk for more information. The winning entries for both the Champion and Rising Star categories will be announced on November 15 at an awards ceremony in London.

High streets minister Jake Berry MP said: “I’d like to extend my congratulations to Cardigan High Street for being shortlisted as one of the UK’s most ambitious high streets in this year’s Great British High Street Awards.

“The calibre of entries has been extraordinary, with each showing the passion, innovation and technological advancement needed to meet the challenges faced by independent high street retailers today.”

Sundeep Kaur, head of UK and Ireland merchant services at Visa which is sponsoring the awrds, added: “Cardigan High Street, along with Pendre and Priory Street are fantastic examples of an area that has made huge strides in transforming itself digitally.

“In particular, its entry highlighted that by using a new town app initiative which is being piloted this year, sites of significant interest will be highlighted to locals and visitors coming to the area, making it a more enjoyable experience for them and driving footfall to businesses in the process.

“Our research shows that consumers now demand a great deal from their high streets, so it is no surprise that Cardigan High Street has made the Rising Star category shortlist for its adaptability, resilience and creativity in meeting these demands.”