Nottingham – a vibrant, safe place to play

Whether you’re staying here for a few days or out for just one night, we want you to enjoy our local pubs and bars at any time of the day or night, and travel in and out of town, with the confidence that we’re doing all we can to provide a welcoming and safe city centre.

We know that many of you may not even be aware of what we do, and actually that’s our aim, 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 out enjoying our city.

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

Best Bar None

This is a national award scheme which we’re very proud to be a part of 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.

Every year – and we’ve been involved in Best Bar None since 2014 – we visit pubs, clubs, bars 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 give the best venues an award each year, there are over 100 this year, so if you see the Best Bar None certificate or window sticker you’ll know that we appreciate and recognise that they take your safety seriously.

The Safe Space Pledge

The safety of all women and girls is a priority for us here in Nottingham so on top of Best Bar None, 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 will you get from a Safe Space 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.

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.