Copeland MP Trudy Harrison is encouraging local traders to enter a competition to find the best shop.
The Best Small Shops Competition celebrates the creativity of smaller retailers and the central role they play in the local community.
A shortlist of 25 of the most impressive applications nationally will be made by a panel of established representatives from the independent retail industry.
The shortlisted small shops will be invited to a Parliamentary reception on November 5 to find out who will be crowned the Best Small Shop for 2019.
Judges will be looking for evidence of a small shops’ entrepreneurial spirit, ways that they have been innovative in their business and what they have done to have a lasting positive impact on their community.
Mrs Harrison said: “We have so many excellent independent shops across Copeland who I am sure would impress in this competition as they offer quality goods, bespoke services and excellent customer care.”
The competition is free and all shops who enter will also be promoted to consumers through an online Indie Retail Directory.
Shops can nominate their businesses until Monday, September 9 via www.bestsmallshops.co.uk.
The 2018 Best Small Shops Competition was won by the Mainstreet Trading Company, based in the rural Scottish Borders.
