Purple Flag for Bury for fourth consecutive year

Bury town centre has been accredited with Purple Flag status for a fourth consecutive year and continues to be the only town in Greater Manchester to fly the Purple Flag in recognition of its thriving night time economy.

Purple Flag is a town and city centre award – similar to the Green Flag for Parks and Blue Flag for beaches – which aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between 6pm and 6am.

Areas awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.

Since 2007, Purple Flag status has been awarded to more than 70 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland. Purple Flag accredited areas report a consistent increase in footfall and a decrease in crime and anti- social behaviour within the evening and night time economy.

The Purple Flag programme is managed by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) which works alongside a partnership of key stakeholder groups backed by the Government, police and businesses, as well as the UK sponsors Diageo Great Britain.

To retain Purple Flag Status, the Bury team had to provide detailed information for a range of criteria including, cleanliness and safety, movement and transport, the range of attractions, entertainment and events, high quality environment and strong partnership working.

The assessor was impressed by the strong partnership working between the key stakeholders, businesses, Bury Pubwatch, Bury Street Pastors and GMP which is focused on the continual improvement of the night time offer.

The Purple Flag partnership has helped to support initiatives like Ask Angela (an innovative safety campaign), the Bury Businesses Against Crime Radio Scheme (BBAC) and street lighting improvements.A Best Bar None scheme, led by Greater Manchester Police, is also being discussed.

Councillor David Jones, chair of the council’s licensing panel and chair of the Purple Flag Steering Group, said: “We are delighted to once again receive this prestigious award in recognition of the ongoing excellence of Bury town centre. Purple Flag status reflects our recognition of the importance of the night time economy and how effective partnership working is supporting our evening and night time economy. We will continue to work together to ensure that Bury continues to go from strength to strength and offers an enjoyable and safe evening out for everyone’’

The Purple Flag assessor also highlighted the ongoing investment in the town’s evening economy, with the £4.6 million redevelopment of The Met allowing for an expanded programme theatre and live music and the new restaurant development at The Rock both enhancing what is already a strong dining and leisure offer.

The Rock's centre director Arnold Wilcox-Wood said: “The Purple Flag gives us a big advantage over other towns because people visiting Bury know it is a safe place for them to enjoy the evening and night time economy.

“Being a Purple Flag town has played a part in us bringing new restaurants to The Rock, such as The Racconto Lounge which opened in November and West Ivy which opened in January this year – both are great additions to the town centre.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 24 May 2018.

Picture: We’ll keep the Purple Flag flying here – members of the Purple Flag steering group outside Racconto Lounge on The Rock, with (front) Pat Jones-Greenhalgh, interim chief executive of Bury Council; council leader Cllr Rishi Shori; Michael Bridge, the council’s licensing manager; and Arnold Wilcox-Wood, The Rock’s centre director.

Note to editors:

The ‘after dark’ economy is worth over £66bn annually to the UK, supporting thousands of businesses, employing 4.5% of the UK workforce, and significantly contributing to local economies.

About Purple Flag

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.

Ask Angela:

This is a national initiative and has been set up in Bury by Bury Council and its town centre partners with the support of Pubwatch. The scheme will allow customers who feel threatened, uncomfortable or unsafe while on a date to get help by approaching the bar (a member staff) and ‘ask for Angela’ - a play on the word (guardian) angel. They could then be taken aside or to a safe location so they can speak in confidence about what help they may need. Staff could then call them a taxi discreetly, contact their friends or family or ask the individual causing the distress to leave the venue

Venues who are interested in joining the scheme and would like more information should email communitysafetyteam@bury.gov.uk