Love Your High Street Awards 2026: The Finalists

A Darn Good Yarn has turned a small yarn shop into a welcoming community hub where customers can connect, learn, create and feel at home.

Established just over two years ago, the shop has built a reputation for being approachable and welcoming, with customers regularly visiting as much for conversation as for yarn. The team knows many customers by name and provides additional support for older people and those with mobility, hearing or communication needs, including personal shopping assistance, text-based communication and help choosing products.

The shop’s community work includes charity raffles and donations, involvement in Camborne’s yarn-bombing group and BID projects, and a free monthly knitting and crochet group that brings together people of all ages and abilities. It also runs a free after-school crochet club for Year 5 and 6 pupils, providing starter kits and a creative, social activity away from screens.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira

“A Darn Good Yarn stood out for creating a genuine sense of belonging around the shop, using their business to connect generations and make people feel welcome, supported and included.”

Reason for public nomination: “They run a beautiful little yarn shop which is often a much needed haven.”

Garden King has developed a family-run garden centre into a destination that combines retail, entertainment and community activity for all ages.

For 26 years, Garden King has built its offer around expert advice, friendly service and helping customers with everything from carrying purchases to the car and local delivery to furniture assembly. Its Christmas tree team takes particular care to help customers find the right tree, while regular customers also value the garden centre as somewhere to meet, chat and spend time.

Its community contribution ranges from donating surplus plants and free sandbags during local flooding to providing rock salt to a vaccination centre during the pandemic. The business also hosts free clubs and activities including knit and natter, bingo and book clubs, alongside seasonal events, woodland walks, school and care home scarecrow competitions, and free family attractions.

Sarah Ward, Executive Director of The Gift & Lifestyle Consortium

“Garden King has gone far beyond the traditional garden centre model, creating a place where families, older customers and the wider community can come together and enjoy something different.”

Reason for public nomination: “Garden King is far more than a garden centre, it's a genuine destination.”

Health & Remedy has quickly established itself as a community-focused independent, using its shop and social media presence to champion businesses across Chard.

In less than a year, the healthy food and wellbeing shop has developed into a hub that puts its town at the centre of what it does. Rather than simply using its platforms to promote its own products, the business creates events and social content designed to highlight other local businesses and encourage people to explore what Chard has to offer.

Its Chard Guide page is run entirely to promote other businesses in the area, helping generate awareness and spending for local independents while creating a more positive voice for the town. The business has also created artwork from images of Chard, appeared on local radio and BBC One, and won a national health food shop award.

Leon Mepham, Membership & Services Manager at Bira

“Health & Remedy has shown how much an independent business can contribute beyond its own shop, deliberately using its platform to promote other local businesses and create a stronger community around them.”

Reason for public nomination: “They are kind, approachable and always happy to take the time to talk, offer guidance or simply share a smile.”

Jackson’s combines almost a century of heritage with a modern approach, preserving a much-loved high street business while continuing to evolve its offer.

Established in 1933, Jackson’s has remained a fixture on Doncaster’s high street, providing friendly advice, competitive in-store prices and personal local delivery alongside its traditional apothecary experience. The business continues to invest in knowledge and training, offering customers up-to-date advice and referring them to other local services when it cannot help directly.

The shop champions Yorkshire products, with around 90% of some 900 products made in the county, and provides a welcoming space where customers can enjoy a cup of herbal tea and a conversation. Following a period when its future was uncertain, local-born Medical Herbalist Lydia Mantella and her husband Arman took over the business with former owner John Shephard, combining generations of knowledge and expanding the business with a natural health clinic, workshops and talks.

Leanne Fallon, Membership Support Executive at Bira

“Jackson’s is a fantastic example of an independent retailer preserving its heritage while adapting for a new generation, with its knowledge, personal service and commitment to local products at the heart of that journey.”

Reason for public nomination: “The young couple that took it over 10 years ago have so much knowledge about their products & are willing to give free advice at any time in person or over the phone.”

Not Just Pets has built its reputation on knowledgeable, personal service, supporting pet owners and their animals while remaining closely connected to its local communities.

Established in 2004, the family-run business operates shops in Frome and Larkhall, offering advice across a wide range of pets, from dogs and cats to reptiles, birds and fish. Customers can get help with nutrition, medication, fitting coats, collars and harnesses, while the business also provides tag engraving, local delivery and a sourcing service when products are not available in store.

Not Just Pets supports local charities including Cats in Distress, Forever Hounds Trust and Bath Bunny & Guinea Pig, while hosting fundraising events and promoting responsible pet ownership through open days, school visits and community involvement. The business also remained open and delivered to customers during the pandemic, while continuing to support local initiatives and promote British-made and West Country products.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira

“Not Just Pets demonstrates the real value of specialist independents, combining expert knowledge with the personal service, local delivery and community relationships that larger retailers struggle to replicate.”

Reason for public nomination: “They support the local community in as many ways as they can.”

Rocket and Bird has become a champion for Taunton’s independent businesses, creatives and high street community while building its own distinctive retail offer.

The shop sells work from around 40 local makers, artists and designers, while owner-led support extends to creatives starting or developing their own businesses. Alongside running Rocket and Bird, the owner promotes independent businesses through the Taunton Independent Quarter and Love Taunton – Discover Taunton social channels, helping turn a cluster of more than 60 independents into a recognised destination.

Its voluntary work includes fundraising for murals, organising trails and Christmas campaigns, supporting the town’s independent bookshop, campaigning on parking charges and speaking to local groups about shopping locally. The owner also contributes to local media through radio and BBC Somerset, helps businesses with social media and serves on the board of Visit Somerset representing high streets.

Sarah Ward, Executive Director of The Gift & Lifestyle Consortium

“Rocket and Bird is a powerful example of an independent retailer understanding that its success is connected to the success of the businesses and creatives around it, and actively doing something about it.”

Reason for public nomination: “It’s a friendly, welcoming shop that has become a part of the wider creative community as well as the local Taunton community.”

That Little Bookshop has brought an independent bookshop back to Stafford while creating a welcoming community around books, writing and local independent businesses.

Established two years ago, the female-owned bookshop focuses on carefully curated books for all budgets, with a commitment to making titles accessible and ordering anything it does not have in stock. It has quickly developed a loyal customer base, attracting visitors from Stafford and beyond while encouraging customers to discover other independent businesses nearby.

The shop runs writing, calligraphy and poetry workshops, silent book clubs and writing sessions, while its Beyond the Bookshelves event gave 16 local independent authors the opportunity to showcase their work. It also supports schools and charities through donations, competitions and World Book Day events, and has begun developing a local independent retailer group to support other small business owners.

Leon Mepham, Membership & Services Manager at Bira

“That Little Bookshop has made an impressive impact in a short time, not only restoring something Stafford had been missing but using books and events to build a genuinely connected community.”

Reason for public nomination: “The owner has built a safe community for all.”

The Mug Tree Tea Room has spent more than 11 years putting community, inclusion and giving back at the heart of its independent business.

Since opening in 2014, The Mug Tree has built a welcoming space for families, vulnerable people, older customers, SEND groups and anyone looking for somewhere friendly to spend time. It offers free baby weighing, supports breastfeeding parents, adapts menus and catering to individual needs, and has helped establish wider town initiatives around breastfeeding-friendly businesses and safe spaces.

Its community work extends well beyond the tea room, including founding and continuing to coordinate East Grinstead Repair Café, supporting vulnerable residents during the pandemic and providing free lunch bags to struggling families. It has also delivered drinking water during a major local water outage, supported charities and schools, and organised town-wide events including Easter and food trails that encourage customers to visit other independent businesses.

Leanne Fallon, Membership Support Executive at Bira

“The Mug Tree’s contribution goes far beyond its own customers, with years of practical support for vulnerable people and a consistent commitment to bringing the wider community and independent businesses together.”

Reason for public nomination: “The Mug Tree is all about giving back.”