King’s Lynn salon GH Hair Designs was a cut above the rest in its category at this year’s Mayor’s Business Awards
The 2026 West Norfolk Mayor’s Business Awards takes place in March, and today we focus on the Business Innovation category, sponsored again by Metcalfe Copeman & Pettefar solicitors of King Street in Lynn.
The accolade will be one of 13 presented at the 37th Mayor’s Awards at a wonderful black-tie evening at the Alive Corn Exchange in Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place on Friday, March 6.
Headline sponsor is once again West Norfolk Council, with the Lynn News and our sister publication Your Local Paper organising the event. Popular ITV Anglia presenter David Whiteley will be hosting.
Nominations are open, and there are 12 categories to go for, plus category judges will get together to crown the winner of The Mayor’s Business of the Year from all of the overall winners.
The Business Innovation Award celebrates new ideas, processes, products, services, technologies, and applications that have had an impact on an organisation’s success.
This award will go to the organisation that can best demonstrate an ability to create, grow, and develop innovations or processes that substantially improve the commercial performance or prospects of the company.
Gemma Harvey and her team at GH Hair Designs, of St Ann's Fort in Lynn, won the award this year. Since opening in 2011, the establishment has taken pride in creating a modern and relaxed environment and also won the Customer Care award at the 2023 event.
Gemma told our reporter back in March: “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s really nice to be recognised in the well-being industry, that’s what we’re all about because it is so important to take care of your health.”
After Gemma received a diagnosis of ME in 2018, she was told she should give up working; however, she chose to carry on and manage her condition holistically, prompting the creation of a relaxation room in her salon, which gives visitors a space to unwind before or after they get their hair cut.
“For the last 12 years we’ve been focusing on the hairdressing side of things and now that it is established, we can offer lots more,” she added.
The owner said that, in the future, she wants to host events and workshops with nutritionists and other professionals to help her clients.
The full list of award categories and sponsors is as follows:
Environmental Champion (sponsored by West Norfolk Council), Small Business of the Year (Mapus-Smith & Lemmon LLP), Business Innovation (Metcalfe Copeman & Pettefar LLP), Apprentice/Trainee of the Year (Greenyard), Champions in Agriculture (Brown & Co), King's Lynn Champion (Discover King's Lynn), Employee of the Year (MARS), Customer Care (My House Agency), Leisure & Tourism (Fraser Dawbarns LLP), Best Established Business of the Year (Brown & Co), Independent Retailer of the Year (sponsorship available), Business Leader of the Year (sponsorship available).
This prestigious annual awards programme is a memorable highlight in the region's business calendar, attracting hundreds of nominations every year from businesses across West Norfolk.
You can nominate your own business and each business can nominate in two categories. Nominations close at 5pm on Friday, November 28.
Visit: www.mayorsbusinessawards.co.uk
