Stockport’s Barratt brothers praised by High Streets Minister

The Barratt brothers from Stockport have been praised by High Streets Minister Marcus Jones for their efforts to revitalise local markets across the UK.

Tom and Joe Barratt’s Teenage Markets give young people a platform to showcase their creative talents. Their hard work includes fusing retail and live performance at Teenage Market events to attract new customers to markets and bring the energy, diversity and vibrancy of local young people to our high streets and town centres.

They have received a “Special Recognition” award from the Minister and Simon Roberts, co-chair of the Future High Streets Forum, as part of the Great British High Street Awards.

Tom and Joe Barratt

The brothers have already played a big part in Stockport’s regeneration strategy and are now working with local authorities and Town Teams to set-up and run successful Teenage Market events across the country, supporting a whole generation of young traders and performers.

High Street Minister Marcus Jones said: “High streets are the life and soul of cities, towns and villages across the country, but they rely greatly on the support they receive from an army of businesses, traders and volunteers.

“Tom and Joe Barratt and the other Special Recognition award winners are fantastic examples of the people that give their all – day in and day out – to make our communities better places to live, work and socialise.”

“I’d like to commend you for your fantastic contribution and thank you for all your hard work.”

Tom and Joe Barratt said: “We’re really pleased to be given this special recognition award for The Teenage Market. It’s great to see the impact that our events are now making in communities across the country, having started out in our hometown of Stockport. It goes to show that there are so many creative and talented young people in the UK, they just need to be given the right support.”

A record number of 230 high streets entered the Great British High Street Awards 2015 and nearly 200,000 votes were cast across the seven award categories.

The Special Recognition category has been introduced to focus on individuals and organisations that are making a real difference to our high streets.

The Awards are one of a number of initiatives to help champion high streets as the cornerstones of the community.

These include a £billion package of investment ranging from targeted business rate discounts, sensible planning changes and action that reins in over-zealous parking practices.

Nominations for the Great British High Street Awards 2016 open later this year. For more information, visit www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk