The Week in the Life column with Keith Tordoff

What’s more it is not just rhetoric and the hard facts prove it.

Five years ago the Nidderdale Chamber of Trade set out a strategy to restore the traditional High Street of Pateley Bridge to its former glory days.

By starting on the foundations and capital the High Street of Pateley Bridge it was recognised that the knock on effect would benefit the whole of Nidderdale.

After three years the High Street, with no empty shops, was awarded the title by the government of the Best High Street in the country. Four years into the Nidderdale Chamber of Trade project, Pateley Bridge won the Best Village in Yorkshire title in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition.

Along the way numerous events have been organised each year and celebrities encouraged to visit the area.

The TV presenter Clare Balding OBE walked the Nidderdale Way, resulting in a legacy for her BBC Radio 4 programme Ramblings.

Listeners to her show still come to the area to follow in her footsteps. Many hotels, cottages, pubs, restaurants and businesses throughout Nidderdale have benefited from the publicity of her radio broadcast.

The Tour de Yorkshire keeps coming through Nidderdale and down the ‘iconic’ High Street, festooned with bunting and pavements packed with spectators.

So Pateley Bridge is proud to be the jewel in the Crown of Yorkshire. Back to facts and I start with last week’s newspapers.

The Telegraph travel section featured Yorkshire as a top 10 travel destination and Welcome to Yorkshire used a photo of Pateley Bridge High Street decorated with its bunting to highlight this in the article.

The Yorkshire Post listed eight towns to visit in Yorkshire and Pateley Bridge was among them with a photograph of the bunting clad High Street. Welcome to Yorkshire were promoting the upcoming Tour de Yorkshire and a photograph of the High Street was the main photo used.

This free publicity is not down to good luck, although a little bit of it always helps, it is because let’s face it Pateley Bridge looks amazing whatever the time of year.

Fantastic news! Pateley Bridge are to represent Yorkshire in the Britain in Bloom competition which is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

The announcement made on Monday follows Pateley Bridge last year sweeping the boards in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition. Having been declared the Best Village in Yorkshire in the competition the organisers of Yorkshire in Bloom nominated Pateley Bridge to go forward to the National competition.

As chairman of the Pateley Bridge in Bloom group I am delighted that the hard work of the volunteers has been recognised and that the Yorkshire in Bloom organisers have faith in us delivering in the Britain in Bloom competition.

The prestigious competition is recognised as bringing national attention and economic benefits to an area.

There will be a lot of hard work to put everything in place for when Pateley Bridge is visited by the judges of Britain in Bloom at the end of July or early August – let’s hope we are not in the middle of a heat wave like last year! There we have it, case proven – Pateley Bridge is recognised as the best and most beautiful place in Yorkshire!