Town bathed in purple as night time economy booms

So with that in mind, making sure revellers continue to frequent the town is hugely important to Colchester Council.

This weekend the council offices will be bathed in purple light to get the message across that Colchester is the place to be after hours.

It is part of Purple Flag weekend which Colchester is promoting as one of the towns which has been awarded the accolade.

Set up to establish national standards and raise the image of Britain’s town centres, successful holders of it have to show the town offersasafe and improved night-time environment.

As the Blue Flag is an indicator of a good beach, and a Green Flag reflects the standards of parks, the Purple Flag points out places to go for a good night out.

Getting one shows a town offers a clean and safe environment, great bars and clubs,avariety of arts and cultural attractions and a high standard of transport links.

Tim Young, Colchester councillor responsible for community safety, licensing and culture, says Colchester is more than worthy.

But he admits revellers are probably unlikely to have heard of the scheme and, therefore, probably do not check if their chosen venue for a night out has one.

He said: “They probably do not know about the flag, but that is why we want to raise awareness, why we are turning the Town Hall purple again.”

Over the three years, working in partnership with others, the council says it has made great strides in improving its night-time economy, which provides employment for almost 3,500 people.

It says crime and disorder has fallen since 2012, tighter policing and licensing raising standards in pubs, clubs, bars and taxis means visitors can feel more secure on a night out and all the council’s car parks have Park Mark awards, independent reassurance of safety and low instances of crime.

A study carried out independently earlier this year showed 70 per cent of people thought going out in Colchester was either excellent or good.

Mr Young said: “It means those people felt safe and it was something carried out independently."

Mr Young insists the flag does not mean the town is perfect and concedes incidents will still happen.

He said: “Nothing is being swept under the carpet. But we can’t be responsible for the actions of a few individuals so there will still, sadly, be incidents of violence.

“This award is not saying that won’t happen, but it is about how it is dealt with.

“It is good a high percentage of people feel safe going out, but we want to improve on that.

“We want to give people of all ages a really good experience.

“Colchester is a bit of a magnet to people from outside of the area looking for good night life because of the theatre, cinema and good restaurants.

“We are as safe as we can possibly be through the partnership we have in a number of diffierent areas including charities and street pastors.”

Contributing to this feeling of safety is the SOS Bus, run by the charity Open Road, which has a paramedic, doctor or nurse on duty as a matter of course every weekend.

Mr Young says the council now wants to build on this by continuing to strengthen relations with night spot managers via the recently revived Pubwatch scheme.

Craig Gill, general manager of Missoula in Head Street, is a representative and member of Pubwatch which meets once a month.

He said: “I think the town has been surrounded in the past by a lot of negativity and the fact it has been given this accreditation proves this is wrong.

Of violent incidents, he added: “A lot of it is an incident here or there, but it does not reflect the whole town.

“We get thousands of people coming into town every week and the majority have a good time.

“I know a lot of the managers around they all work hard to make sure that happens.

“Being involved in Pubwatch means we have regular contactwith councillors, police and other agencies and we can all work together to iron out any issues.”

Osman Rasih, owner of the Silk Road nightclub in St Botolph’s Street, says he feels the town is making great strides.

Last year, the police tried to close the bar, saying its customers were causing disorder.

However, by working closely with police and council officials he says they have turned things around.

He said: “We got a slap on the wrist ourselves 18 months ago, but have been working closely with police and licensing officers and things have never been better.

“What happened to us wasabit of a wake up call for other pubs and clubs.”

The first floor conversion of Silk Road into a private members pool club will be unveiled this weekend.

He said: “It is an exclusive venue for people who want to have a coffee and a snack.

“In general our clientele has changed in the past 18 months to two years.”

He says he believes the Purple Flag can only beagood thing for Colchester.

He said: “It is a completely different place to a couple of years ago. I definitely think that is the case for the area we are in – St Botolph’s and Queen Street. It is like a different place.”