ALTON town centre has been shortlisted in the ’Champion’ category of this year’s Great British High Street Awards.

Now it is down to proud folk to vote for their town.

Following a rigorous selection process, Alton High Street was chosen by an independent judging panel as one of 26 street shortlisted for the award and will now battle it out in a public vote, which accounts for 30 per cent of the final scoring.

Town clerk Leah Coney said: “In demonstrating that our High Street is the best in the nation the submission to the judges focused on our strong community spirit, the visual appeal of the town, our extensive events programme, and the commitment of our many voluntary groups.”

The application was submitted by Alton Town Council (ATC), which organises many of the events throughout the town in a bid to increase footfall, visitor numbers and general enjoyment of all the town has to offer. This includes highlights such as Fun Fridays in the Public Gardens throughout the summer holidays, the month-long Alton Walking Festival in May, Proms in the Park in July and the Yuletide festival. The council is also responsible for the vibrant and colourful high street planting in the summer, the Christmas decorations in the winter as well as a new scheme to bring free town wide Wi-Fi to the High Street.

Community groups singled out in the submission to the judges for their exemplar work in promoting the town included the Alton Society for its litter picks and town preservation work, Alton Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Jane Austen Regency Week, an internationally renowned event, and Alton Matters for organising family trails around the town centre shops. These groups all come together in the form of the newly created Town Team whose remit is the promotion and enhancement of the town centre environment. The annual Herald Classic Car Show and the Jane Austen 200 Bench Trail were also highlighted as popular attractions to the town centre.

High Street retailer Specsavers was also included within the submission to the awards as an active sponsor and promoter of community activities and events around the town.

Another area flagged up in the application demonstrated Alton’s increasing commitment to the ‘green’ agenda which includes environmentally sustainable planting, the re-commissioning of Miss Bell’s drinking water fountain in the Public Gardens and East Hampshire District Council’s installation of two new electric car charging points in Manor car park.

Finally as part of its submission, the town council was asked to nominate a ‘High Street Hero’ and was delighted to propose retiring Public Garden groundsman Peter Earp. As the founding father of local charity The Rhiannon Trust, Pete helps raise money to buy communication aids for children with special needs, as well as making an invaluable voluntary contribution in assisting the staging of fundraising events in the town.

The Champion category celebrates and showcases the best High Streets across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the winner receiving a £15,000 prize. The winner will be announced on November 15.

Voting is online with a deadline of 11.59pm on Wednesday, October 31.

To vote for Alton, visit thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk/high-street-of-the-year-awards/champion-finalist-alton or alton.gov.uk for the link to vote via Facebook or Twitter.