Hull’s Business Improvement District (BID) has been commended by the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner for its work in making the city centre a safer and more enjoyable place.

In particular Matthew Grove praised the success in achieving Purple Flag status, which helps the city promote its night life with confidence, with high quality bars, restaurants and entertainment venues attracting people with money to spend on boosting the evening economy.

Mr Grove’s comments came as he spoke at a meeting of the HullBID Board in the build-up to Hull’s first Purple Flag Week.
The occasion will be celebrated by a variety of purple-themed events throughout the city centre, including painting a cream telephone box purple and cladding Neil Worner’s rickshaw in purple vinyl.

The Purple Flag was awarded to Hull in October last year after a campaign led by a partnership including HullBID, Hull City Council, Humberside Police, Hull Citysafe, the NHS and many individual businesses.

Mr Grove was elected three weeks later, and in April he joined representatives of Hull’s Purple Flag partnership in a fact-finding evening tour of the Old Town.

Speaking to the BID Board, which comprises prominent owners and managers of city centre businesses as well as representatives of Hull City Council and Humberside Police, Mr Grove said: “It is great to be in a room full of people who are not just raising issues and bringing problems to me but who are very much part of the solution, a group of people who are prepared to get stuck in, identify the issues that are causing problems to our community and solve them.

“It is a real pleasure for me to assist those people who are already out there doing the right things, working hard to make our community a safer and better place to be, achieving real success and getting some really positive outcomes.”Mr Grove said the messages from his walk-about in April reached a wide audience as a result of the support of local and regional media.

He said: “We secured newspaper, radio and TV coverage that sent out a loud and clear message: come to Hull – it’s a great place to be, a safe place to be and a great night out.

“We want more people in the city, more people with money in their pockets who want to spend it and improve the prosperity of the city. Prosperous cities are safer places to be and are almost self-policing. With thousands of people enjoying themselves the police just become part of the background.

“I want to work with teams such as HullBID, who have a lot of expertise, and bring them all together because fighting crime is very much a team game. Groups like HullBID have brought so much to the battle against crime and so much to the city of Hull and I am immensely proud of what you are doing. Anything I can do to support you I will.”

Jim Harris, Manager of St Ste[hen’s Shopping Centre and Chairman of HullBID, said: “Since Matthew’s appointment we have had a very positive relationship particularly with regard to Purple Flag and as the principal city in his area we have seen significant reductions in all levels of crime. We are keen to keep that going and help each other.”

Purple Flag Week in Hull will kick off with this weekend’s Hull Trinity Festival, a free live music event which will take place on an outdoor stage in Trinity Square on Saturday and Sunday.

King Charles will headline Saturday’s programme at 6pm and Dodgy will deliver the final performance on the main stage at 7pm on Sunday. Top local bands, many of whom featured at Freedom Festival, Humber Street Sesh and the Hull Invasion at the Galtres Festival, will provide a full programme of entertainment on the main stage during the afternoon. Pubs and café bars around the Old Town will feature live music throughout the weekend as part of the festival.

Purple Flag Week will then run until Sunday September 29 with activities being planned throughout the city centre to demonstrate the variety and quality of the evening economy.

Pictured: (l-r) Jim Harris, Matthew Grove, Kathryn Shillito

Further information:

Purple Flag: www.purpleflag.org.uk

Hull Trinity Festival: http://www.facebook.com/hulltrinityfestival