Nottingham is celebrating retaining its Purple Flag status since 2010.

What is Purple Flag?

Purple Flag is an accreditation process that allows members of the public to quickly identify town and city centres that offer an entertaining, diverse and safe night out.

Accreditation is based on a number of core criteria:

• the overall well-being of the place – whether it is welcoming, caring, clean and safe;
• accessibility and movement in terms of public transport, parking, pedestrian routes, crowd management and access to information;
• its appeal with regards to having a good mix of dining venues, pubs and bars and late night venues as well as a strong arts and cultural offering;
• the place – the location of venues, having a strong mix of chains and independents; attractive public spaces and good signage;
• having clear policies, aims and a strategy for delivering these.

So what does Purple Flag mean for you? 

Visiting or living in a Purple Flag accredited city means that you should feel that you are in a safe, enjoyable and diverse environment during in your time there. Multiple organisations including Nottingham BID, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire City Council work all year around developing and updating initiatives and schemes to make this possible. Here's just a few examples of the services you can access as a result of this work. 

Street Pastors: 

Street Pastors offer on-street support in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights for those out in the city. From giving directions to looking after you when the night hasn't quite gone to plan; Street Pastors are always on hand to help. 

Taxi Marshalls:

Taxi Marshalls are available at selected ranks throughout the city on Friday and Saturday nights, helping you to get home safely after a night out. Taxi Marshalls will do their best to make sure queues are kept orderly and check that taxi drivers are always using meeter to avoid exploitation of those who may be intoxicated. 

Best Bar None:

Best Bar None is a national scheme that provides accreditation to licensed premises that are well managed and operated. Nottingham holds the national record for most accredited venues with 116 bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants receiving accreditation in 2019. The scheme encourages late night venues in the city to constantly create new and innovative ways of creating a safe environment to be enjoyed by the public when visiting the venue. If you'd like to know more about Best Bar None then CLICK HERE. 

Safe Spaces:

Whether you're waiting for a cab, experiencing an emergency or simply having a bad time on a night out and need somewhere to collect yourself; safe spaces are accessible at 3 points around the city and available to use at when you need them. The points are currently located at McDonalds (Clumber Street), Propaganda Night Club and The Malt Cross. The intent of the spaces are to ensure that you left out on the street or put in vulnerable situations. 

Organisations and partners: 

Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) is the main driving force behind the city securing Purple Flag accreditation, working in partnership with other organisations in the city (Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire Police, Community Protection, the Crime and Drugs Partnership, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University).