Back in July we proudly announced that we would be teaming up with Barrow BID to run the very first thebestof Shop Front Competition.

Sandwiched between the BID Clean and the upcoming Tour of Britain the competition was a chance for businesses to show us what they do best; and a chance for our judges to find and reward the businesses who go that extra mile to make their business premises stand out.

Judging started early on Monday 3rd September as the panel consisting of BID Manager Colin Garnett, Barrow Mayor Bill McEwan, Suzanne Edgley and myself walked the length and breadth of the town centre on the hunt for those businesses that had embraced the spirit of the competition, used some imagination, allowed their creativity to shine through and put the effort into getting involved.

Well, we certainly weren’t disappointed!

There were 5 categories in this year’s competition. Best Independent Shop Front, Best National Shop Front, Best Tour of Britain Display, Best Town Centre Street and Best Market Stall.

Premises were judged by the following criteria:

How inviting the premises were.

The standard they were decorated to.

Did they have relevant and nice signage?

Were their windows clean?

Did they have a beautiful, attractive window display?

The standard for each category was fiercely contested, with many businesses having a great case for being crowned the winner – which is why as well as naming the winner for each category we’ve also named businesses that came highly commended for their efforts.  

So, we can officially announce the winners for the 5 categories are….*drum roll*…

Best National Shop Front - Pandora 
Highly Commended - Wetherspoons, Lloyds Bank, Bon Marche

Best Independent Shop Front - Bumble Bee
Highly Commended - Ross, Pastures New, Baby Bitz, Special Occasions, The Gentry

Best Market Stall - Ashley Rose
Highly Commended - Wool Baa, Weird or Wonderful, The E-cig Man

Best Street - Cavendish St (from Dalton Rd - Dalkeith St)

Best Tour of Britain Window Display - Cumbria Sewing
Other Fantastic Displays - Re:New, Heff, The Gallery, JL Winder & Co, Crafty Hobbies, Project John, Dandy's, Special Occasions

Well done to not only our winners, but to every business that took part, it was fantastic to see so many businesses taking pride in their premises and making their window displays and shop fronts look so appealing.