A NEW promotional logo which is supported by the Mary Portas scheme – has been unveiled to entice more shoppers into Nelson town centre.

Nelson Town Team worked through a number of options, including one discarded option with a Pendle Hill motif, before deciding on the finished version.

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The emblem will be used as part of a four-month campaign to promote Nelson, which will feature a food festival in September.

Critics have voiced their unease previously at the lack of progress being made with regeneration work on the main shopping area.

But supporters are hopeful, with the backing of shopkeepers and a number of promotional videos, that it will help Nelson catch up with a revived Colne high street.

Lara Oddie, of Oddies Bakery, town team vice-chairman, said: “This marketing project is going to recognise the changes that have been achieved in the town in recent years.

“The number of empty shops has reduced throughout and most significantly on the pedestrian section of Scotland Road and the Victory Centre, where we wanted to concentrate the funding, with a nine per cent fall recently.”

Town team backers say a number of activities, including sports sessions, a children’s pop-up art shop and regular arts and vintage markets have been provided under the initiative, as well as the former post officer being relaunched as The Shop, for vintage fare.

The food festival is pencilled in for September 18 and 19 and will feature a host of English, continental and South Asian delicacies.

Murray Dawson, of advertising agency Scott Dawson, which came up with the logo, added: “A new logo has been designed which will appear on all the literature and marketing materials and we are also embracing social media with a Twitter campaign and You Tube clips.

“Nelson has a great deal to offer and we want to attract people in to the town centre who may not have visited Nelson for some time.”

Those behind the new logo will be hoping for a better response than the last Pendle borough promotional logo, drafted for road signs and publicity material, which was scrapped before it even got off the drawing board.