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Flying the flag for Kingston town centre
Kingston could be one of the first town centres to receive official recognition as one of the nation’s top nightspots.
Kingston town centre will be one of the first in the country to be assessed under a new scheme that recognises excellence in managing our town and city centres at night.
The Home Office backed Purple Flag accreditation scheme seeks to improve the standards and image of Britain's towns at night. Under the scheme that was developed by the Association of Town Centre Management judges will assess town centres on everything from personal safety to the cleanliness of our streets.
Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Greenslade, Borough Commander, Kingston upon Thames, said:
“The fact that Kingston Town centre is being considered for an award for the way in which the night time economy is managed is a tribute to the hard work put in across the Safer Kingston Partnership.
Police have worked with the Local Authority, local business and voluntary groups to make the town centre a safer place to enjoy the theatre, a meal or a drink. Initiatives such as taxi marshals, street pastors and a local authority town centre manager working through the night have combined with high visibility policing to create a safer environment.
This does not mean that we are complacent as we are always looking at ways to improve the way the Partnership works together.”
Kingston will be judged by a team of experts from a wide range of professions who will look at how the town centre operates and is managed from early evening to the early hours.
In assessing locations for Purple Flag status the judges will be looking for town centres that are clean, safe, well cared for and that provide a diverse offer of shops, bars, clubs and cultural activities.
The other city and town centres to be judged with Kingston in this first series of assessments will be Birmingham, Bath, Manchester, Covent Garden and Leicester Square.
Councillor Derek Osbourne, Leader of Kingston Council, said:
“Kingston is already well recognised as one of the principal retail centres by day, but this scheme will demonstrate just how significant Kingston’s night time economy has become.
The Purple Flag judges will be able to see for themselves how the strong partnership between the Police, Kingstonfirst, Kingston Council and local businesses has created a safe, clean and hugely popular night time destination.
It is credit to everyone involved with developing and maintaining Kingston’s night time economy in recent years that we should be in this first wave of assessments alongside the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and Covent Garden.”
Judging will take place in November and a panel of experts will make a final decision in December. Awards will be made in January 2010.