Bury prepares to celebrate vibrant nightlife

Bury is joining towns and cities across the UK to showcase the quality, diversity and vibrancy of its evening and night-time economy.

Bury was awarded coveted Purple Flag status in February this year, and venues across the town centre will be celebrating this over the weekend of 16/17 October, which includes the annual Bury Light Night (Friday 16 Oct) spectacular.

Councillor Mike Connolly, leader of Bury Council, said: “We are proud to remain the first and only town centre in Greater Manchester to achieve Purple Flag status, in recognition of the fantastic range and mix of venues and entertainment we have. We have The Met with theatre, music, culture and comedy, plus a wide range of food and dining options. Add to this an ever increasing programme of events and activity including Bury Light Night, and it’s clear that Bury really has a great evening and night time offer for all ages.”

Bury will be seeking renewal of its Purple Flag status this month with a decision expected early in the New Year.

The ‘after dark’ economy is worth £66 billion annually to the UK, supporting thousands of businesses, employing 4.5% of the UK workforce, and significantly contributing to local economies. This series of Purple Flag events intends to capture people’s imaginations, change perceptions and encourage people to do something different with their evening in a variety of locations.

The Purple Flag programme is run by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM). Shanaaz Carroll, interim chief executive, said: “There are now almost 70 towns and cities across the UK and Ireland who are proudly flying the Purple Flag after working hard to gain accreditation.

“The award is not just about safety, but also the vibrancy and diversity of the evening and night-time offer — this can only be achieved by people working together and across the country we are seeing some amazing examples of this type of partnership working.

“It is great to see so many towns and cities really celebrating their Purple Flag achievement and putting so much effort into the weekend."

• All the details about Bury Light Night can be viewed here:http://www.bury.gov.uk/burylightnight

ENDS

Press release issued: 1/10/15.

Note to editors:

The Purple Flag programme was developed following the Civic Trust’s “Night Vision” report in 2006, and is now managed by the Association of Town & City Management.

Purple Flag is:

• An accreditation process similar to Green Flag Award for parks and Blue Flag for beaches. It leads to Purple Flag status for town centres that meet or surpass the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.
• A comprehensive set of standards, management processes and good practice examples designed to help transform town and city centres at night.
• A research, training and development programme, to help towns and cities improve their evening and night-time economy.
• A positive initiative that indicates an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out.

• For more information about Purple Flag please contact Sarah Walker, Purple Flag Programme Manager using sarah.walker@atcm.org