Housebuilder helps fund festive front door competition in Shrewsbury

A competition which aims to get Shrewsbury in the festive spirit is being backed by a local housebuilder.

Bellway West Midlands, which is building new homes at two developments in the town, is one of the leading sponsors for My Shrewsbury’s Decorate your Doorstep competition.

The competition encouraged people in Shrewsbury to make their doorsteps look festive for Christmas, with prizes awarded for the best decorations in the following three categories – ‘fun’, ‘stylish’, and ‘over the top’.

The winning ‘fun’ decoration will secure family tickets for four to all Shropshire Festivals events in 2021, the most ‘stylish’ decoration will be awarded a voucher of £80 off any photoshoot from Birgitta Zoutman Photography, and the most ‘over the top’ design will secure a guided family tour of Shrewsbury Prison.

Prizes will be awarded on Wednesday 16 December, the night of the town’s Carols on the Doorstep initiative, which is encouraging people to sing carols on their doorsteps in household bubbles.

In the spirit of the competition, Bellway has decorated the doorstep of its showhome at Copthorne Keep, off Copthorne Road.

Katy Rink, editor of My Shrewsbury magazine, organising the competition with photographer Birgitta Zoutman, said: “We love the idea that Shrewsbury will be the most decorated town in the UK! We are making a big noise, nationally, with our Carols on the Doorstep event and if everyone decorates their doorsteps, it will make for a fabulous atmosphere on the night.

“We loved working with Birgitta during lockdown and we are delighted to join up again to run this festive competition, whilst hopefully raising lots of money for Shrewsbury foodbank at the same time.”

Bellway West Midlands Sales Director, Marie Richards, said: “We are very proud to be supporting My Shrewsbury’s Decorate your Doorstep competition, which is a wonderful event that will help to bring festive spirit to residents in Shrewsbury this Christmas.

“It hasn’t been an easy year for many people, and we feel the competition will serve as a very light-hearted and fun way for the community to celebrate and get creative together.

“As well as decorating our own showhome doors, we are also organising food bank collection points at our sales centres at The Spinney, off Oteley Road, and at Copthorne Keep from 1 December.

We’d like to encourage those in the area to visit our developments and contribute to the cause, to help those in need this Christmas season.”

Food donations will go towards Shrewsbury Food Bank, which is run by Barnabas Community Projects. More information about their Christmas campaign can be found at barnabascommunityprojects.org/christmas.

Details of the Decorate Your Doorstep competition and the Carols on the Doorstep initiative are available at doorstepcarols.co.uk.

For more information on the new homes being built by Bellway in Shrewsbury, visit bellway.co.uk.