Raising the flag for Gloucester
It’s third time lucky for Gloucester, which has once again been given the coveted Purple Flag National safety award.
The accolade which celebrates places that provide a diverse, safe and welcoming night out has been awarded to the city for the third year in a row.
Like the Blue Flag for beaches or the Green Flag for parks, the award follows a rigorous accreditation process.
The purple flag is awarded to cities or towns that show that they have a safe and welcoming night-time economy, based on the following criteria:
- Wellbeing: successful destinations are all safe and welcoming with all everyone playing their part in delivering high standards of customer care.
- Movement: getting home safely after an evening out is really important, as is the ability to move around the centre with ease.
- Appeal: successful destinations offer a vibrant choice of leisure and entertainment for a diversity of ages, groups, lifestyles and cultures.
- Place: successful areas are alive during the day, as well as in the evening. They contain a blend of overlapping activities that encourage people to mingle and enjoy the place.
The prestigious award is also held by neighbouring Cheltenham and Bristol.
City council officers, the police, Amey, Gloucester LVA and the Gloucester BID all worked on Gloucester’s application for which the city will have to reapply for next year.
Councillor Richard Cook, Leader of the city council, said: “I’m delighted that that once again we are able to say we’re a Purple Flag destination. A lot of work has gone into this by a wide range of partners across the city all and I’d like to congratulate them for their success and in making Gloucester a great place to visit both day and night.”
Councillor Dawn Melvin, cabinet member for Economic Recovery and Growth, said: “This has been a difficult year for businesses in our fantastic city and something like this recognises how hard they work to make visiting and shopping in Gloucester an award winning experience. I’d like to remind people that it is also Shop Local Week and by supporting local businesses who have all brought in lots of measures to keep us all safe, it supports the local economy, jobs and our in turn our local community.”