PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY TO CELEBRATE DURING PURPLE FLAG MONTH
FLYING THE PURPLE FLAG
Newcastle under Lyme will be taking part in the official annual celebration of the Purple Flag programme, which recognises excellence in the management of the evening and night-time economy (ENTE) in the UK and Ireland, taking place during the whole month of October 2019.
The ‘after dark’ economy is worth an estimated £72bn annually to the UK, supporting thousands of businesses, employing 4.5% of the UK workforce, and significantly contributing to local economies. This series of events through October intends to capture people’s imaginations, change perceptions and encourage people to do something different with their evening in a variety of locations.
Towns and cities across the country are planning a wide-range of events to not only showcase the quality, diversity and vibrancy of their ENTE, but also to challenge the common negative, perceptions about the safety and quality of our town and city centres during the evening.
During October we will be visiting lots of early evening and night time economy venues to engage with the public about the Purple Flag accreditation as well as promote the venues that make Newcastle under Lyme such a diverse and enjoyable night out.
The Purple Flag programme is run by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM). Ojay McDonald, CEO of the ATCM said:
“There now are over 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 celebrations.”
For more information about Purple Flag please contact Sarah Walker, Purple Flag Programme Manager using sarah.walker@atcm.org
ENDS
Notes to Editors
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.
Towns already with Purple Flag Status:
Aberdeen
Armagh (NI)
Ashby de la Zouch
Aylesbury Vale
Ballina
Basingstoke
Bath
Beckenham – LB of Bromley
Bournemouth
Bristol
Bury
Canterbury
Cardiff
Carrick on Shannon
Chelmsford
Cheltenham
Chippenham
Chester
Cork
Derby
Derry – Londonderry (NI)
Dublin
Dublin One
Dunfermline
Ennis
Enniskillen (NI)
Galway
Guildford
Gloucester
Guildford
Halifax – Calderdale
High Wycombe
Ipswich
Kettering
Killarney
Kingston
Leeds
Leicester Square – London
Limerick
Liverpool
Luton
Maynooth
Melton Mowbray
Mullingar
Navan
Newcastle under Lyme
Newry City (NI)
Northampton
Norwich
Nottingham
Nottingham Trent University
Omagh (NI)
Paisley
Perth
Plymouth
Preston
Reading
Salisbury
Sheffield
Shrewsbury
Sligo
Southend
Southport
Sutton Coldfield
Swansea
Tralee
Torquay
Waterford
Watford
Weston Super Mare
Westport
Weymouth
Wexford
Worthing
