ON a mission to preserve Hexham’s historic streetscape, and make the town a top shopping destination, Hexham Civic Society launched the Shopfront Design Awards last August, and now the winners have been announced.

The Beaumont Hotel on Beaumont Street, artisan home store Matthias Winter on Hallstile Bank, and gallery and photography studio Sarah Loveland Photography on Battle Hill have been jointly picked as boasting the best shopfronts in town, after the society invited the public to nominate their favourites via email.

All of the winning businesses closely follow the Hexham Shopfront Design Guide, a guide based on Hexham Civic Society’s design package for shopfronts, which was adopted by the then Tynedale Council in 1990. It’s aim is to maintain the preservation of Hexham’s conservation area, by achieving a high standard of design in relation to shops and other businesses.

The society hopes that the competition will help to set the high standards for prospective new shop owners and those with existing shopfronts which it says are poor and detract from Hexham’s appearance.

Chairman of Hexham Civic Society Paul Wharrier said: “We started the initiative in order to give firstly give recognition to those traders that go the extra mile to make their shopfronts unique, and secondly to raise the bar for design quality in Hexham.

“Despite the hardship retail is currently facing, our independent shops, pubs and hotels continue to lead the field in good quality design that helps to encourage footfall, and retains and enhances Hexham’s historic character.”