Coventry’s night-time economy has been awarded a major international accreditation for the very first time, recognising the city as a safe destination after dark.

The city has been recognised with prestigious Purple Flag status, highlighting Coventry city centre, Earlsdon High Street and the Kasbah in Primrose Hill Street as providing a safe, entertaining, diverse and enjoyable night out.

Coventry Business Improvement District (BID), Coventry City Council and West Midlands Police have been working in partnership to raise standards and ensure positive night-time experiences for residents, visitors and people working in the city centre.

Purple Flag accreditation reflects coordinated work across the partnership. Through the Coventry Community Safety Partnership, the Night‑Time Economy Steering Group and the Responsible Authority Working Group, partners have put in measures to strengthen city centre management and safety.

This work includes licensing and compliance activity, taxi safeguarding checks, Ask for Angela and Best Bar None, and preparedness activity under Protect & Prepare.

The BID and Coventry City Council relaunched the Ask for Angela scheme, which provides a way for anyone who feels vulnerable in a bar or venue to discreetly ask for help from staff. This included launching a training scheme, with 150 people completing the training over the last 12 months.

Over the last three years the BID has also purchased 200,000 safety items for venues to distribute free of charge, including DrinkSafe anti-spiking covers, bottle toppers and DrinkSafe testing strips to allow venues to spot-check if a drink has been spiked.

Further joint activity includes, the installation of 100 public defibrillators and bleed kits over the last three years.

Coventry City Council’s Licensing Team in partnership with Coventry BID, delivers the Best Bar None accreditation scheme in the city. Now in its fourth year, the accreditation highlights to customers that a venue excels in safety, training, management and customer experience.

Taxi marshals have also been introduced in the city centre to help people get home safely and Coventry BID’s street patrol team has expanded its service to patrol in the evening to deter crime and anti-social behaviour, while education sessions have been held with students arriving in Coventry for the first time.

The city welcomed independent assessors from the Association of Town Centre Management in November, who spent a full day and night in the city centre and visited pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

The assessment took place alongside the Christmas Market and Festival of Christmas, showcasing Coventry at one of its busiest and most dynamic times of year.

Joanne Glover, Chief Executive of Coventry BID, said: “The safety of visitors to the city centre is our highest priority, so it is fantastic to have received Purple Flag recognition after many years of hard work across the city.

“This was a true partnership effort, not only with the key partner organisations, but also our brilliant community of businesses, who have gone above and beyond at all stages and proved the power of partnership working in Coventry.

“It was great to hear how impressed the assessors were with the collaboration shown, and their feedback that they were surprised we had not applied sooner speaks volumes. We will continue to invest in initiatives to promote safe and enjoyable nights out in Coventry city centre.”

Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council, said: “We are delighted to have received Purple Flag status. The accreditation reflects years of hard work led by Coventry City Council’s Regulation & Community Safety teams and our partners, demonstrating our commitment to a safe, vibrant and well‑managed city centre.

“We want our city centre to feel safe and welcoming and I’m grateful for the efforts of the Council, Police, BID officers and Coventry Street Pastors as well as so many hospitality venues in helping achieve this.

“The assessment process helped us showcase the city’s many fantastic venues and the feedback we received from the assessment team was overwhelmingly positive.”

Cllr Hetherton, Cabinet Member for City Services, added: “It is great to see Coventry recognised through the Purple Flag accreditation. Partners have worked through the city’s established governance to deliver measures that support a safe and well‑managed evening and night‑time economy.”

Cllr Faye Abbott, Chair of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee, said: “Achieving Purple Flag status is an outstanding achievement for our city, reflecting our commitment to creating a vibrant and safe night-time economy. This award not only raises the profile of our city’s nightlife but also reassures the public that they can enjoy it with confidence and provides local businesses with invaluable opportunities for growth and collaboration. It’s a testament to the hard work of all stakeholders involved in building an inclusive, welcoming environment after dark.”

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Purple Flag status is hard to achieve, and it reflects the dedication of Coventry BID and the council in making the city a vibrant, safe, and well-managed place after dark. That’s great news for Coventry’s night-time economy.

“Everyone using our pubs, clubs, and venues, as well as the 100,000 people working in hospitality, deserves to feel safe and supported. That’s why I set up the Night-time Economy Commission: to support venues, protect jobs, and help the sector not just survive, but thrive.”

Chief Inspector Hamir Godhania, from West Midlands Police, added: “We are incredibly proud that Coventry has been awarded the Purple Flag accreditation. West Midlands Police work closely with the BID, Council and other emergency services to ensure we are doing our very best for Coventry’s evening and nighttime economy. 

“We want everyone to feel safe when visiting Coventry. We have three dedicated neighbourhood teams for the city centre, a Priority Crime team, response units and specialist teams like Project Guardian who proactively seek those wanting to cause harm.

“We want to continue to reduce antisocial behaviour and violence across the city and the Purple Flag accreditation is just another step closer to achieving this.”