Liverpool is celebrating after learning it has retained the prestigious Purple Flag status for its evening and night-time economy.
Purple Flag is a town and city centre award – similar to the Blue Flag for beaches – which aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 18:00 and 05:00. Cities and towns awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant mix of entertainment while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.
Since 2007, the programme has awarded the Purple Flag status to over 65 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland. Purple Flag accredited towns have all reported a consistent increase in footfall and a decrease in crime 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 Government, police and businesses, as well as the UK sponsors Diageo Great Britain.
Liverpool, which first gained the Purple Flag in 2010, demonstrated that it had a safe and well-managed night-time economy with a great offer including clubs, bars, cinemas, theatres, restaurants and an events programme.
Councillor Emily Spurrell, Mayoral Lead for Community Safety, said: “We are very pleased that we are still able to fly the Purple Flag which is confirmation that we have a safe and vibrant city centre.
“A lot of organisations as well as businesses are working together to achieve this and our night-time economy is going from strength to strength.”
Shanaaz Carroll, CEO (Interim) of the ATCM 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 â 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.”
Liverpool will officially receive its Purple Flag at an awards ceremony on the 25 February in Aylesbury Vale.
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.
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. .
