Greats winner David Robertson, managing director of Bijou and Pozzi, in Elgin and Buckie, is among the finalists in this year’s prestigious Great British High Street Awards which look to recognise and reward High Street heroes.
Backed by the Daily Mirror and Visa, David was nominated by his local council in Moray for a High Street Hero award in recognition of his dedication not only in boosting trade in Elgin, but also for the relationship that he has forged with schools over the past 15 years, as well as for his work in raising awareness on mental health issues. This was led by David opening up about his own experiences, with the business editor of the Daily Mirror applauding him for his passion on “shining a light on mental health issues among men.”
“I feel honoured to have reached the finals, especially as there are just 12 nominees – three for each country in the UK,” David told GiftsandHome.net
The judging panel – made up of retailing, business and community experts – were impressed by David’s passion and approach as chairman of the Elgin Business Improvement District (BID).
Explained David: “The Elgin BID was the catalyst which allowed our history trail and regneneration of buildings to happen. As a BID is all private funding, it allowed us to access over £3 million of linked funding which we were able to put to use. As part of my role as chairman, I sat across three groups, but I was only a small part of a huge group people.”
Other High Street Hero finalists include Emma Corfiled Walters, owner of the Cricklehowell bookshop Book-ish; Joseph Gambarini, owner of Princes Café in Pontypridd, Wales; Jozefine Duthie of Dimesons, an independent family run business in Fraserburgh, and Stephen Reynolds, proprietor of The Front Page Bar.
The results of the competition will be announced on Thursday November 15.
Top: David Robertson is one of 12 finalists in the running for a High Street Hero trophy at the prestigious Great British High Street Awards.
