Celebrating Nottingham's top independent businesses

Nottingham is well-known for its independent businesses and every year the team at the Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) runs an awards scheme to celebrate the best in the city. Here Geoff Williams, director of the Nottingham BID and owner of The Tokenhouse on Bridlesmith Gate, writes about this year's winners. Hockley shop Page 45, which specialises in graphic novels, has been named Nottingham's favourite independent business for the second year running in a competition run by the Nottingham BID. The first stage of the competition was a public vote, after which the top ten were visited by a panel of judges, including Jennifer Spencer, who is Chief Executive of Experience Nottinghamshire. The judges visited each of the shortlisted businesses and rated them on staff friendliness, knowledge, customer service, products, individuality, marketing and surroundings, and the business with the highest score was named as the winner. After being crowned winner, Stephen Holland, one of the owners of Page 45, said: "To win this competition once is an achievement but to win it a second time is truly amazing.  Our customers are very passionate and loyal and it’s great that they voted for us in the first place. Then for the captains of industry – the judges – to recognise us in this way is fantastic." Such was the quality of the firms shortlisted in this year’s competition that the judges also decided to present two special highly-commended awards to two other businesses, the Cheese Shop, based in Flying Horse Walk, and the Beauty Temple on King Street. Webb Freckingham of the Cheese Shop was delighted to be highly-commended and said: “It’s fantastic that Nottingham’s independents are being supported and recognised – they are really important to the city.  We are so happy that our customers have voted for us – our business is all about them – and it’s great that the judges like what we do too.” “I am over the moon and also really proud,” said Lucy Goodwin, one of the owners of the Beauty Temple. “My husband and I are passionate about what we do and it is lovely for the business to be recognised in this way. We are very touched by our loyal customers who have helped us achieve this by voting for us in the first stage of the competition. We are delighted too that the judges rated us so highly.” Pictured from left to right are Webb Freckingham from The Cheese Shop, Lucy Goodwin from the Beauty Temple and Page 45's Stephen Holland.