With October marking Purple Flag Month, Derby is celebrating over 10 years of holding the Purple Flag accreditation. The city was first awarded the purple flag in July 2013 for its city centre evening and night-time economy.
The Purple Flag recognises towns and cities that provide a safe, welcoming, and well-managed night-time economy, similar to the Blue Flag for beaches and the Green Flag for parks. The Purple Flag is only accredited to towns and cities that are welcoming to everyone, offer safe ways for visitors to travel home, provide a good mix of venues, and are appealing after dark.
With safety being a top priority, the accreditation means that Derby has benefitted from more visitors, lower crime and anti-social behaviour, and a safer city centre. It also recognises the hard work that goes on both on the streets and the planning from local authorities to make the city centre safer at night.
Visitors and residents who go on nights out in Derby can benefit from increased safety, such as the teams of volunteers and workers who give up their weekends to keep people safe. Street pastors, BID wardens, taxi marshals, licensing officers, Derbyshire Police, door staff, ambulance crews and CCTV operators also work together to ensure the safety of Derby’s visitors and residents.
Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Safety and Leisure said:
I am proud to be a cabinet member of a city that has repeatedly met the high standards required for the Purple Flag status. For over a decade, Derby has been recognised as a city that puts in hard work and collaboration, from local authorities to volunteers, to ensure the safety of everyone at night.
This recognition, for over 10 years, shows that together, we gave created an evening and night-time economy that is vibrant and safe, and we are committed to going even further in the future to ensure the safety of everyone, particularly women and girls in our city.
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said:
I am incredibly happy to be celebrating Purple Flag Month. I am also proud that Derby has retained its status of being a Purple Flag city for over a decade now. Through a partnership effort, our teams have been working hard to ensure that Derby remains a safe city for all. This year we have also invested £147,679 of government funding in new CCTV cameras in the city centre to make everyone, particularly women and girls, feel safer at night.
I look forward to working further on the city centre’s safety and ensuring that Derby is a safe and welcoming city for all. We have an ambition to use the next application as a launch pad to go beyond the Purple Flag standard and do even more for community safety.
Derby City Council is currently in the process of reapplying for the Purple Flag status, and the council remains confident that the city’s vibrant and well-managed night-time economy will once again meet the high standards required. The reapplication process will be an opportunity for the Council to showcase its ongoing efforts to prioritising safety at night, particularly for women and girls.