Thame in the top ten of ‘England’s Greatest Places’

THAME High Street has been chosen as one of the top ten of ‘England’s Greatest Places’, as nominated by the British public, and now that voting has begun, the number of votes will determine the overall winner to be crowned ‘England’s Greatest Place’.

England’s Great Places is a competition designed by the RTPI, to celebrate some of our most attractive and inspiring places, and the role planners have played in helping to protect or shape them for England’s communities. The judging panel was asked to choose a winner for each region. A very successful competition was held last year in Scotland.

An eminent panel of judges, chaired by RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) Past President, Professor Peter Fidler, have chosen their top 10 greatest places in England, after members of the public nominated 700 of their favourites as part of England’s Greatest Places competition.

A famous national park, a multi-billion pound regeneration scheme, two cities, a waterfront all feature and a local high street (Thame’s) are on the list.

Janet Askew, President of the RTPI said: “All our finalists are clearly much loved and appreciated places both by local residents and the people who visit them. We wanted to recognise special places like those on the list which are cherished because they have been protected, carefully planned or have been improved by the planning system. I am looking forward to seeing who the public now vote as England’s Greatest Place.”

A delighted Helen Johns, who coordinated, Thame’s recent Great British High Street, bid, said: “It is great news to hear that Thame High Street has been chosen as one of ten finalists in the RTPI’s England’s Great Places Competition. As the judges say, the character of our market town and its High Street have been protected and enhanced over time thanks to exemplary community support and innovative neighbourhood planning. These are the same qualities that have been noted by the judges in the Great British High Street Competition 2015, in which Thame was entered recently. Thame is also being recognised in that competition (details will follow soon) and, without doubt, it is a blend of community support, creativity and determination that contribute to making Thame so special – truly one of the Great Places in England. ”

The top ten Regional winners of the 10 ‘Greatest Places’ are:

Letchworth Garden City, East of England
Peak District, East Midlands
Brindley Place, Birmingham, West Midlands
Kings Cross Regeneration, London
Kielder Park, North East
Liverpool Waterfront, North West
Thame High Street, South East
Bath, South West – joint winner
Bristol, South West – joint winner
Saltaire, Yorkshire

A specially commissioned trophy will be presented to each local authority to mark their award.

Voting is open until Friday 20 November and is very easy. Just Tweet or Instagram your vote for your chosen place to: #RTPIgreatplaces

Full details: LINK HERE