The North West is home to four streets nominated in the Google Street View Awards.
Four streets within the North West have been shortlisted by Google’s panel of experts which includes VisitBritain, Lonely Planet, TV presenter Julia Bradbury, Fashion Designer Jeff Banks and Editor of Glamour, Jo Elvin
• Manchester’s Wilmslow Road and Hope Street in Liverpool nominated for Britain’s Best Foodie Street
• Mathew Street in Liverpool and New Cathedral Street in Manchester nominated for Britain’s Best Fashion Street
Google have today announced the launch of the Google Street View Awards, a celebration of Britain’s best-loved streets as voted for by the public in a nationwide poll. Four streets from within the North West have been shortlisted for the awards by Google’s expert panel.
The awards, for Britain’s Most Picturesque Street, Best Foodie Street and Best Fashion Street, have been created in anticipation of further imagery being added to Google’s revolutionary Street View tool, which currently allows users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery in 25 British towns, including many of those nominated for the Street View Awards. Later this year, Street View will be rolled out to cover additional streets from around the UK.
The North West proved popular with Google’s panel of experts who nominated a total of four streets across the three categories. Editor of Glamour, Jo Elvin, nominated Manchester’s New Cathedral Street for Britain’s Best Fashion Street. It will compete against Mathew Street in Liverpool, home of the boutique arcade Cavern Walks and WAG shop favourite Cricket, which was nominated by Daily Mirror Fashion Editor, Amber Morales.
Both Manchester and Liverpool compete again in the Best Foodie Street category, with Richard Harden, Co-Editor of the Harden’s Restaurant Guide, nominating both Hope Street in Liverpool and Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, which is Manchester’s famous Curry Mile.
Shortlisted nominations for each of the award categories have been compiled by a panel of experts from the worlds of food, fashion and travel including VisitBritain, TV personalities Julia Bradbury (Countryfile), Jeff Banks (The Clothes Show) and Brix Smith Start (Gok’s Fashion Fix), leading journalists Jo Elvin (Editor, Glamour) and Nicholas Lander (Restaurant Correspondent, Financial Times) and authors David Else (Editor of The Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain) and Richard Harden (Co-Editor, Harden’s Restaurant Guide). The experts were asked to nominate streets that fulfilled a pre-set criteria for each category. Their nominated streets highlight a series of British treasures ranging from famous tourist attractions such as London’s King’s Road, Royal Crescent in Bath and The Shambles in York to hidden avenues and courtyards such as Gold Hill in Shaftesbury and Pen Cei in Aberaeron, Wales.
The four streets within the North West will now battle it out against 46 other streets in a nationwide public vote. Voting opens from today, and closes on Sunday 28th February. The winners will be announced in March. To vote, go to www.maps.google.co.uk/beststreets
Britain’s Best Foodie Street
The winning street should offer a unique mix of mouth-watering options which could include fine dining, cafés, market stalls and delicatessens, all covering a diverse mix of food types and price points.
1. Wilmslow Road, Manchester
2. Hope Street, Liverpool
3. South Embankment, Dartmouth
4. Whiteladies Road, Bristol
5. Charlotte Street, London
6. Stockbridge High Street, Hampshire
7. Call Lane, Leeds
8. Fossgate, York
9. High Street, Southwold, Suffolk
10. High Street, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk
11. Broad Street, Birmingham
12. Belgrave Road, Leicester
13. Byres Road, Glasgow
14. The Shore, Edinburgh
15. Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle
16. Haven Hill, Craster
17. Cross Street, Abergavenny
18. High Street, Conwy
19. Botanic Avenue, Belfast
20. Howard Street, Belfast
Richard Harden, Co-Editor of Harden’s Restaurant Guide nominated Hope Street in Liverpool, commenting it is “Liverpool’s most genteel street, between the two cathedrals, houses almost all the city’s restaurant of any interest.”
Britain’s Best Fashion Street
The winning street should offer an eclectic mix of boutique and high street, designer and high street for all clothing tastes and ages. The winning street should satisfy both bargain-hunters and label-lovers.
1. Mathew Street, Liverpool
2. New Cathedral Street, Manchester
3. Milsom Street, Bath
4. Regent Street, Clifton Village, Bristol
5. Kings Road, London
6. Westbourne Grove, London
7. Stonegate, York
8. Briggate, Leeds
9. Rose Crescent, Cambridge
10. Gentleman’s Walk, Norwich
11. Corporation Street, Birmingham
12. Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham
13. Ruthven Lane, Glasgow
14. Buchanan Street, Glasgow
15. Northumberland Street, Newcastle
16. High Bridge Street, Newcastle
17. Queen’s Street, Cardiff
18. St Mary’s Street, Cardiff
19. Victoria Street, Belfast
20. Lisburn Road, Belfast
Jo Elvin, Editor of Glamour, nominated Manchester’s New Cathedral Street. She said: “This street has all the most glamorous shops in one destination. It’s great to see the street back to form after the cowardly IRA attack.”
Britain’s Most Picturesque Street
The winning street should be uniquely British and visually charming. It could be vibrant, full of character, diverse, walker-friendly or architecturally interesting.
1. Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset
2. Royal Crescent, Bath
3. Chipping Campden High Street, Gloucestershire
4. Brunswick Square, Brighton & Hove
5. The Shambles, York
6. Grey Street, Newcastle
7. Pen Cei, Aberaeron
8. Main Street, Tobermory, Isle of Mull
9. New College Lane, Oxford
10. Broad Street, Ludlow
The winning three streets will be crowned “Britain’s Best Street 2010” in each relevant category. Google will work with the winning streets to create a bespoke Google Street View tour, created to highlight the key retailers and points of interest, allowing the world to find out more about the nation’s final choices.
Competition is expected to be fierce as streets from all over Britain battle it out for the coveted awards. Can the North West put itself firmly on Google’s map by winning any of the best street categories, or will London upstage Manchester’s News Cathedral Street and Liverpool’s Mathew Street as the nation’s fashion capital? Will Britain’s love of a curry crown Wilmslow Road as the UKs Best Foodie Street or will the public vote for the Michelin starred restaurants on London’s Charlotte Street?
Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said: “We are really pleased to be involved in this exciting project which will honour streets across the UK and help raise the profile of Britain internationally in an innovative way. The campaign received high levels of participation from overseas which raises the level of engagement with Britain.”
Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist for Google said: “We want to celebrate the beauty and culture of Britain and are really excited about the first ever Google Street View Awards. The awards will showcase some of Britain’s Best Streets across the UK and we hope people will get involved and vote online for their favourite.”
