01
Verified independence
Eligibility is checked rather than self-selected. The mark is not a paid advertising upgrade.
Starting in Norwich
Find somewhere that isn't everywhere.
Project Independent is developing a better way to discover genuinely independent cafés, pubs, restaurants, shops, makers, markets and local experiences — verified, easy to find and never ranked by who pays most.
Concept site · Evidence and pilot-development phase.
St Benedicts Street · Norwich
Nearby independents · concept
Independent coffee
Open nowNear me
Independent coffeeVerified · 4 min walk
The idea
Not another directory.
Norwich already has excellent place marketing. Project Independent is narrower: verify independence, make it useful in the moment, and create evidence a place partner can understand without turning discovery into a popularity contest.
02
Map-first discovery
Find what is nearby, open and genuinely independent without needing to know a business name first.
03
No paid position
Businesses do not buy their way to the top. Saves and QR scans do not become a hidden popularity ranking either.
The place
Norwich should look like Norwich.
The pilot begins with the places and street texture that make Norwich recognisable, while avoiding the claim that the businesses pictured are already participants.
Norwich MarketColour, traders and a place that feels unmistakably local.
St Benedicts StreetIndependent street life, hospitality and local character.
Royal ArcadeDistinctive architecture and independent retail in the city centre.
The mark in the window says this place belongs here. The QR turns that physical moment into wider discovery.
How it connects
Street → profile → discovery.
The round Norwich Original mark is the physical layer. Each participating business would receive its own QR, linking to that verified profile and then the wider map.
1
See
Recognise the round place mark in a real window.
2
Scan
A unique QR opens that business’s verified profile.
3
Discover
Continue into nearby independents and editorial trails.
4
Understand
Report the scan honestly as physical-location engagement — not a purchase or verified visit.
For businesses
Recognition without pay-to-win visibility.
Eligible independents get a verified presence, a place mark and useful routes back to their own live channels.
For places
Visible local support with evidence behind it.
A commissioner can fund verification, discovery, a physical mark and a clearly defined evidence layer without buying another generic town directory.
Evidence discipline
Measure what happened. Don't invent what it means.
A direction request is intent. A website click is onward action. A unique badge scan is physical-location engagement. “I’ve been here” is self-reported. None is automatically footfall or economic impact.
Verified businessesCoverage and participation, not vanity inventory.
Profile freshnessWhen facts were last confirmed.
Direction requestsNavigation intent, not a confirmed visit.
Unique QR scansPhysical-location engagement, not purchase.