Since the 2003 Licensing Act came into force in November 2005 a new nocturnal ‘army’ of police, licensing officers, night time managers, marshals, town centre managers and street pastors has emerged; on a mission to keep town centres clean, safe and convivial throughout the night.
The recently introduced Purple Flag Accreditation Scheme can also help. Purple Flag is a way of raising standards, inspiring effort, developing good practice, acknowledging and celebrating success. In simple terms – areas that meet or exceed the standards can fly the flag – similar to the Green Flag scheme for parks and open spaces.
Purple Flag was the brainchild of the Civic Trust, after which it was transferred to the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) to take the accreditation and training scheme forward The scheme came out of a three-year research project called Night Vision, examining evening and night-time economies. It concluded that, more people would use town centres at night if:
• they were safer, more accessible and offered more choice;
• they offered a good mix of clientele to improve perceptions
• a wider range of attractions would lead to longer term economic viability.
The concept and methodology evolved over the course of eight pilot towns, seven pathfinder areas, market testing with stakeholders and innumerable presentations to professional bodies in the UK and overseas.
The five themes that make up the Purple Flag Core Agenda are designed to capture the rounded perspective of ‘the average night time consumer’. These bring together in one place the range of skills that are relevant to creating a successful night-time destination.
Policy framework
There needs to be evidence of a clear aim and common purpose for the management of the area, and how it offers a positive experience. After-hours policy crosses many professional, budgetary and sectoral boundaries. The challenge is to bring clarity and focus to a complicated field. Wellbeing A prerequisite for successful destinations is that they should be safe and welcoming. All sectors have a part to play in delivering high standards of customer care.Movement Getting home safely after an evening out is a prime requirement. So too is the ability to move around the centre on foot with ease. Improvements may be needed for all types of movement, if centres are to function properly and be appealing after hours.
Appeal Successful destinations should offer a vibrant choice of leisure and entertainment for a diversity of ages, lifestyles and cultures, including families. Offering mix of public and private attractions - more than just alcoholic venues!Place Successful hospitality areas are alive during the day, as well as in the evening and night. They contain a blend of overlapping activities that encourage people to mingle and spend time. They respect and reinforce the character and identity of the area – demonstratimg flair and imagination in all aspects of design for the night.
It appears that the most powerful argument for Purple Flag is about perceptions. Across the country local authorities, town centre management partnerships, crime and disorder reduction partnerships and police have been working hard to make centres safer and better for after-hours visitors. But this effort goes largely unnoticed in the press and media, who generally focus on the negative and sensational. The result is that many town centres at night have acquired an unduly negative stigma.
We have worked with a number of Pathfinders to develop Purple Flag – The City Centres of Bath, Birmingham, Kingston, Manchester and Westminster’s Leicester Square and Covent Garden. These areas have made huge improvements to their evening economy and will be the first to be formally assessed and be considered for Purple Flag status.
The experience of Purple Flag offers an insight into the changing function of town centres and the role of urban management professionals. We suggest urban professionals should be more engaged in this area for a number of reasons:
• Feedback from the ‘front line’ can give a valuable reality check on whether policies are working in practice
• A plan produced primarily for 9 to 5 (which most are) may not fit patterns of use in the evening and at night
• Urban practitioners need to plan more for space and time - activities and uses change fast, sometimes from hour to hour
• A town centre at night is completely different environment to the day.
The methodology we devised for Purple Flag can help by providing a coherent overview, an informed context for debate and a practical pathway to partnership, action and raising standards.
For more information about Purple Flag, how to apply or improve the evening economy, visit www.atcm.org
Toyubur Rahman is Development Manager at the Association of Town Centre Management. He is a town centre manager and town planner
Paul Davies was Head of Policy and Development at the Civic Trust. He is a town planner and architect specialising in urban regeneration
