The Google Street View Awards.

LONDON; 8th February 2009: UK streets battle it out to be crowned Britain’s Best Street in the Google Street View Awards.

Google have today announced the launch of the Google Street View Awards, a celebration of Britain’s best-loved streets as voted for by the public in a nationwide poll.

The awards, for Britain’s Most Picturesque Street, Best Foodie Street and Best Fashion Street, have been created in anticipation of further imagery being added to Google’s revolutionary Street View tool, which currently allows users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery in 25 British towns, including many of those nominated for the Street View Awards. Later this year, Street View will be rolled out to cover additional streets from around the UK.

Shortlisted nominations for each of the award categories have been compiled by a panel of experts from the worlds of food, fashion and travel including VisitBritain, TV personalities Julia Bradbury (Countryfile), Jeff Banks (The Clothes Show) and Brix Smith Start (Gok’s Fashion Fix), leading journalists Jo Elvin (Editor, Glamour) and Nicholas Lander (Restaurant Correspondent, Financial Times) and authors David Else (Editor of The Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain) and Richard Harden (Co-Editor, Harden’s Restaurant Guide). The experts were asked to nominate streets that fulfilled a pre-set criteria for each category. Their nominated streets highlight a series of British treasures ranging from famous tourist attractions such as London’s King’s Road, Royal Crescent in Bath and The Shambles in York to hidden avenues and courtyards such as Gold Hill in Shaftesbury and Pen Cei in Aberaeron, Wales.

Voting opens from today, and closes on Sunday 28th February. The winners will be announced in March. To vote, go to www.maps.google.co.uk/beststreets

Britain’s Best Foodie Street

The winning street should offer a unique mix of mouth-watering options which could include fine dining, cafés, market stalls and delicatessens, all covering a diverse mix of food types and price points.

1. Wilmslow Road, Manchester

2. Hope Street, Liverpool

3. South Embankment, Dartmouth

4. Whiteladies Road, Bristol

5. Charlotte Street, London

6. Stockbridge High Street, Hampshire

7. Call Lane, Leeds

8. Fossgate, York

9. High Street, Southwold, Suffolk

10. High Street, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk

11. Broad Street, Birmingham

12. Belgrave Road, Leicester

13. Byres Road, Glasgow

14. The Shore, Edinburgh

15. Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle

16. Haven Hill, Craster

17. Cross Street, Abergavenny

18. High Street, Conwy

19. Botanic Avenue, Belfast

20. Howard Street, Belfast

Richard Harden, Co-Editor of Harden’s Restaurant Guides said: “It’s great to have an award that stresses the variety of attractions you can find on the foodie front, across the the UK. The nominations are so multi-various though, that the final verdict is certainly going to be a tricky one.”

 Britain’s Best Fashion Street

The winning street should offer an eclectic mix of boutique and high street, designer and high street for all clothing tastes and ages. The winning street should satisfy both bargain-hunters and label-lovers.

 1. Mathew Street, Liverpool

2. New Cathedral Street, Manchester

3. Milsom Street, Bath

4. Regent Street, Clifton Village, Bristol

5. Kings Road, London

6. Westbourne Grove, London

7. Stonegate, York

8. Briggate, Leeds

9. Rose Crescent, Cambridge

10. Gentleman’s Walk, Norwich

11. Corporation Street, Birmingham

12. Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham

13. Ruthven Lane, Glasgow

14. Buchanan Street, Glasgow

15. Northumberland Street, Newcastle

16. High Bridge Street, Newcastle

17. Queen’s Street, Cardiff

18. St Mary’s Street, Cardiff

19. Victoria Street, Belfast

20. Lisburn Road, Belfast

Fashion designer Jeff Banks commented: “The final shortlist for Britain’s Best Fashion Street is a testament to the strength and diversity of the UK’s high streets. From the exclusive stores across London to the hip independent boutiques in Bristol’s Clifton Village Britain boasts an outstanding range of shops to suit all tastes and budgets.”

Britain’s Most Picturesque Street

The winning street should be uniquely British and visually charming. It could be vibrant, full of character, diverse, walker-friendly or architecturally interesting.

1. Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset

2. Royal Crescent, Bath

3. Chipping Campden High Street, Gloucestershire

4. Brunswick Square, Brighton and Hove

5. The Shambles, York

6. Grey Street, Newcastle

7. Pen Cei, Aberaeron

8. Main Street, Tobermory, Isle of Mull

9. New College Lane, Oxford

10. Broad Street, Ludlow

David Else, Lead Author of The Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain, said: “As the lead author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain, I’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country, and seen many of these streets firsthand. The final shortlist reflects the wonderful variety of architecture in Britain, and I hope people have as much fun voting for their favourites as I had visiting them.”

The winning three streets will be crowned “Britain’s Best Street 2010” in each relevant category. Google will work with the winning streets to create a bespoke Google Street View tour, created to highlight the key retailers and points of interest, allowing the world to find out more about the nation’s final choices.

Competition is expected to be fierce as streets from all over Britain battle it out for the coveted awards. Is London’s Kings Road the undisputed home of fashion or will it be upstaged by Manchester’s trendy New Cathedral Street? Will Leeds’ food emporium, Call Lane, be crowned the most mouth-watering, with its diverse range of eateries, or will the nation’s love of curry challenge it with Birmingham’s Broad Street?

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said: “We are really pleased to be involved in this exciting project which will honour streets across the UK and help raise the profile of Britain internationally in an innovative way. The campaign received high levels of participation from overseas which raises the level of engagement with Britain.”

Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist for Google said: “We want to celebrate the beauty and culture of Britain and are really excited about the first ever Google Street View Awards. The awards will showcase some of Britain’s Best Streets across the UK and we hope people will get involved and vote online for their favourite.”