Purple flag status
Norwich has been recognised as a beacon of excellence in how the city centre manages the evening and night time economy. Norwich was awarded the prestigious Purple Flag status in 2017, which is a positive indication of an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out in the city.
Purple Flag is the national accreditation scheme for town centres at night. It is the “gold standard” for night time destinations.
Management of the economy
The city council has been working with the police and other organisations to help tackle any negative effects of the night-time economy on residents, businesses and visitors within the city centre.
As a result of this joint-working a number of measures have been put in place. They include the following:
- New access restrictions on residential side roads between 11pm and 6am daily (Cathedral Street, St Faiths Lane and Recorder Road) to reduce noise to local residents.
- Signage on residential roads reminding people to respect local residents at night.
- New CCTV cameras on Cathedral Street and Bank Plain/Queen Street.
- Improved policing of the night time economy areas (Prince of Wales Road area).
Along with this, and after consultation on the matter, the city council adopted a Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) on 1 August 2015 around the Price of Wales Road area.
The policy relates to premises applying for a licence, or a licence variation, to sell alcohol or late night refreshments between 9pm and 6am.
Since the introduction of the CIP, it has become the responsibility of any business applying for a new license, or looking to change an existing license within the designated area, to demonstrate that their business will not contribute to the anti-social behaviour before their application can be approved.
