Six streets within London & the South East 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
• New College Lane in Oxford and Brunswick Square in Brighton nominated for Britain’s Most Picturesque Street
• London’s Westbourne Grove and Kings Road nominated for Britain’s Best
Fashion Street
• Charlotte Street in London and Stockbridge High Street in Hampshire nominated for Britain’s Best Foodie 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. Six streets from within London & the South East 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.
London and the South East proved popular with Google’s panel of experts who nominated a total of six streets across the three categories. Countryfile TV presenter Julia Bradbury nominated Brunswick Square in Brighton in the Most Picturesque Street category. The Regency architecture of Brunswick Square which looks out to the sea typifies Brighton & Hove’s distinctive and magnificent architecture. Competing against Brunswick Square and eight other shortlisted streets is New College Lane in Oxford, which was nominated by David Else, Editor of the Lonely Planet’s guide of Great Britain. New College Lane is famous for the Bridge of Sighs, a covered bridge completed in 1914 which connects two parts of Hertford College.
In the Best Foodie Street category London’s Charlotte Street was nominated by Richard Harden, Co-Editor of Harden’s Restaurant Guides and Roopa Gulati, Deputy Channel Head of Good Food. Charlotte Street, with its mix of cheap eateries and Michelin starred restaurants competes against Stockbridge High Street in Hampshire, which was nominated by Chloe Scott-Moncrieff, Food & Drink Editor of Metro.
London received two nominations for the Best Fashion Street category. The historic Kings Road made famous in the 1960s by Vivienne Westwood and Mary Quant is up against Westbourne Grove, which was nominated by celebrity stylist Hannah Sandling and Fashion Retailer and TV personality Brix Smith Start.
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 six streets within London & South East will now battle it out against 45 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. Charlotte Street, London
2. Stockbridge High Street, Hampshire
3. Botanic Avenue, Belfast
4. Howard Street, Belfast
5. Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle
6. Haven Hill, Craster
7. Byres Road, Glasgow
8. The Shore, Edinburgh
9. High Street, Southwold, Suffolk
10. High Street, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk
11. South Embankment, Dartmouth
12. Whiteladies Road, Bristol
13. Call Lane, Leeds
14. Fossgate, York
15. Broad Street, Birmingham
16. Belgrave Road, Leicester
17. Wilmslow Road, Manchester
18. Hope Street, Liverpool
19. Cross Street, Abergavenny
20. High Street, Conwy
Roopa Gulati, Deputy Channel Head of Good Food, nominated Charlotte Street in London, commenting: “From Keralan curries to Spanish tapas, splendid sushi to tasty tortillas - Charlotte Street puts marvelous global menus on a plate.”
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. Kings Road, London
2. Westbourne Grove, London
3. Victoria Street, Belfast
4. Lisburn Road, Belfast
5. Northumberland Street, Newcastle
6. High Bridge Street, Newcastle
7. Ruthven Lane, Glasgow
8. Buchanan Street, Glasgow
9. Rose Crescent, Cambridge
10. Gentleman’s Walk, Norwich
11. Milsom Street, Bath
12. Regent Street, Clifton Village, Bristol
13. Stonegate, York
14. Briggate, Leeds
15. Corporation Street, Birmingham
16. Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham
17. Mathew Street, Liverpool
18. New Cathedral Street, Manchester
19. King Street, Manchester
20. Queen’s Street, Cardiff
21. St Mary’s Street, Cardiff
Fashion Retailer and TV Personality Brix Smith Start nominated Westbourne Grove, commenting it’s "Central but not infiltrated with tourists. There are a number of popular shopping destinations located around Westbourne Grove, such as Ledbury Road, Holland Park Avenue, Portobello Market, and Clarendon Cross."
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. Brunswick Square, Brighton and Hove
2. Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset
3. Royal Crescent, Bath
4. Chipping Campden High Street, Gloucestershire
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
TV Presenter Julia Bradbury nominated Brunswick Square in Brighton and Hove, commenting: "Brunswick Square must be one of the most desirable addresses in Brighton. Can you imagine living in one of those grand white Regent buildings that circle the square? Taking in the wonderful ocean view. Gorgeous."
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. Will the Kings Road attract enough votes to be crowned Britain’s Best Fashion Street, or will it be upstaged by Manchester’s popular New Cathedral Street or Bath’s boutique-filled Milsom Street? Will the diversity of food options on bustling Charlotte Street be enough to secure it the title of Britain’s Best Foodie Street or will it lose out to Manchester’s ‘Curry Mile’ on Wilmslow Road or Call Lane in Leeds?
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."
