Spotlight falls on Bradford At Night scheme at…

Spotlight falls on Bradford At Night scheme at national conference

An innovative scheme designed to boost Bradford’s night-time economy has been highlighted at a national conference.

Organisations across the country heard in detail about the Bradford At Night initiative direct from Jonny Noble, manager of Bradford Business Improvement District (BID).

He was invited to speak about the unique project to the Institute of Place Management/BIDs Foundation joint national conference which took place in Bristol this week (February 8).

He was joined by Bradford At Night’s evening and night-time co-ordinator Elizabeth Murphy.

Bradford At Night was launched by the BID last April, bringing together representatives of every sector involved in the city’s evening and night-time economy.

It now has its own board of voluntary directors and a dedicated co-ordinator, operating completely independently, with the support of the BID.

It has meant that for the first time, every sector – pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, retail, hotels, entertainment venues and leisure destinations, as well as police and security staff – is working together to make the quality of the city’s evening experience a key focus.

Mr Noble said: “Bradford At Night is a unique organisation that takes a new approach to dealing holistically with all the issues involved in helping a bustling city centre thrive between 5pm and 5am.

“As such, it is being watched closely by organisations across the country and we were asked to go along to this national event to explain the concept and how it came about.

“We talked about the fabulous support we have had from so many people across all parts of the sector to really drive efforts to make Bradford an exciting, enjoyable and safe place to spend your evening leisure time, whoever you are.”

They had also explained the bespoke training instigated by Bradford At Night for city centre businesses, including Active Bystanders, Ask Angela and First Aid training for staff.

“We have achieved a huge amount in a short space of time,” said Mr Noble. “From re-energising PubWatch to launching our Night Out gift card, from setting up the Best Bar None scheme to last month’s major announcement about Bradford becoming the world’s first WalkSafe city.

“Some of these initiatives are already up and running in other places but others, like the free WalkSafe app, are genuinely leading the way and many towns and cities across the country can learn from our experience.”

Mr Noble also spoke about the preparations for the UK City of Culture Year in 2025.


(Image: Telegraph & Argus Camera Club member Simon Sugden)