Nottingham – a vibrant, safe place to play

We think it goes without saying that we all expect a safe environment to enjoy ourselves in when we're on a night out in the city, whether you’re staying here for a few days or out for just one night.

You become part of our community when you visit Nottingham to enjoy our local pubs and bars, go out shopping, and travel in and out of town.

We know that many of you may not even be aware of what we do but if you do need us, we want you to know we’re working hard behind the scenes to look after the safety of everyone who is enjoying our city.

So, what do we do, and what can you expect from It’s in Nottingham and our partners?

The Safe Space Pledge

The safety of all women and girls is a priority for us here in Nottingham so we’ve brought in a pledge for venues to sign up to show they are being proactive and are committed to keeping women safe.

What can you expect from a Safe Space Pledge venue? The venue will have two women's safety champions, staff will be trained to take reports of sexual harassment, violence, or intimidation seriously and the venue will respond by offering support and a place of safety if needed.

The Safe Space Pledge has been developed in partnership with the Consent Coalition.

Download a list of Safe Space Pledge accredited venues and supporters.

Best Bar None

We’re very proud to be a part of this national scheme, and (humble brag) being the largest Best Bar None scheme in the UK, because it’s all about the responsible management and operation of alcohol-licensed premises – and working together to reduce the likelihood of crime and anti-social behaviour in our city.

Every year – and we’ve been involved in Best Bar None since 2010 – we visit pubs, clubs, bars, hotels and restaurants in the city centre and assess them on how they are going above and beyond – year after year – to make your night out as safe and enjoyable as possible.

We follow a rigorous accreditation process with venues and with their support – we can't do this without them all – we've awarded 103 Best Bar None accreditations in 2023.

Each year, we also invite accredited venues to a very special awards night, where we celebrate everyone's hard work, and award the very best venues in each category.

With congratulations and thanks to everyone who supports Best Bar None, the eagerly awaited results from this year's ceremony are –

Best Club
Winner – Stealth
Runner up – Tunnel
Highly commended – NG-ONE

Best Restaurant
Winner – Fat Cat
Runner up – Browns
Highly commended – Memsaab

Best Hotel
Winner – Crowne Plaza
Runner up – Cock & Hoop
Highly commended – Chino Latino, Park Plaza

Best Live Music Venue
Winner – Rescue Rooms
Runner up – Rough Trade
Highly commended – The Bodega

Best Large Pub
Winner – Oz Bar
Runner up – Bierkeller
Highly commended – The Roebuck Inn

Best Small Pub
Winner – The Navigation Inn
Runner up – The Lord Roberts
High commended – The Barrel Drop

Best Large Bar
Winner – Baa Bar
Runner up – Icon
Highly commended – Slug & Lettuce, Cornerhouse

Best Small Bar
Winner – Route One
Runner up – Cucamara
Highly commended – All Bar One

Best Entertainment Venue
Winner – Roxy Ball Room, Cornerhouse
Runner up – Peggy’s Skylight
Highly commended – Grosvenor Casino

Look out for Best Bar None certificates in our venues, if you spot one, you’ll know that we appreciate and recognise that the venue takes your safety seriously – we say cheers to that.

Purple Flag

Together, the Best Bar None and Safe Space Pledge contribute to Nottingham being awarded its Purple Flag. You may not even have realised there was such a thing, but there is, and it’s similar to the Blue Flag for beaches or Green Flag for parks.

Our city centre is independently assessed each year to check that our night time offer, including policing, and safety schemes like the ones above, are being managed to make it as safe as it can be.

Nottingham’s Purple Flag, which we’ve had for over ten years now, and are proud to work towards every year, recognises that Nottingham city centre is a safe and vibrant place to enjoy a great night out.