Darlington has been named among the best independent high streets in the UK by a leading entrepreneur.

The town will be flying the flag for Campaign Shop Independent this weekend having been singled out by Holly Tucker.

Holly Tucker, MBE, has launched Holly & Co’s Campaign Shop Independent, to shine a light on UK small businesses and to encourage consumers to vote with their money and support independents on Shop Independent Day, today (Saturday, June 24).

As part of her campaign, Holly, founder of notonthehighstreet and Holly & Co, has named Darlington town centre as amongst the best independent high streets in the country.

Independent traders across the town centre will be receiving special flags to fly the mark the achievement and Holly has already spoken to town centre and events manager, Alex Nicholson, live on Instagram.

Chris McEwan, cabinet member for economy said: “Darlington is a treasure trove of fantastic independent retailers so I wholeheartedly support Holly & Co’s Shop Independent Day and we are delighted to receive this recognition from Holly Tucker.

"It will be wonderful to see the flags flying through the town, highlighting the vast array of shops which stem from the creativity and enterprising spirit we have throughout the town.

"I encourage everyone to buy local even if it’s just one or two items a week. We should all get behind our local independent shops to help them flourish.”

Gemma Whiteley, owner of preloved and homemade children’s wear shop, Stork and Thereafter in Queen’s Street Shopping Centre said: “We're just one of the many independents in this fantastic town, so we'll be flying the flag for all of Darlington's indies."

Helen Sullivan, from Echo 3 coffee house and roastery in Clark’s Yard said: “Echo 3 loves being part of the ever growing independent businesses in Darlington. We will be flying the flag with pride in support of all the small independent businesses that make our town such a great place to visit.”

On a nationwide level, Holly is deeply concerned for UK small businesses, consumers and the UK economy, as the new Holly & Co British Small Business survey reveals alarming insights.

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Holly said: “It is deeply concerning that almost a quarter (24.1 per cent) of small businesses in our Holly & Co Small Business survey told us they are unsure if they will still be trading this Christmas. Moreso, it breaks my heart that 96.4 per cent told us that a major challenge is that they are fighting a losing battle against social media algorithms.

"We are calling on consumers to help their favourite small businesses ‘beat the algorithm’ by cheerleading for their favourites across their social channels using #CampaignShopIndependent, inspiring friends to shop small and support fantastic independents.”

  • Small businesses and supporters can follow @hollytucker #CampaignShopIndependent #ShopIndependentDay or see holly.co for the latest updates, find a Campaign Shop Independent high street near you, and find ways to show support for your favourite small businesses.