Enniskillen has been deemed as a safe and enjoyable place to enjoy a night out after being awarded with a purple flag.
Similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, Purple Flag aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 5pm to 5am.
The flag which is managed by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM), is associated with entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable nights out, while it benefits the town by raising the profile, and encourages tourists to visit.
Local Councillor Mary Garrity, along with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council officer Louise McLaughlin attended the event in Hull and were delighted to accept the award.
“It is a really big deal, and a great selling point from a tourism point of view. It means that Enniskillen is an enjoyable, safe and harmonious place to socialise and frequent for evening entertainment. It ticks a lot of boxes for everyone. While judging it, there is criteria that must be matched and judges would have ate in Enniskillen, walked along by the cruisers and visited the numerous attractions and bars. They would have done a tour of what Enniskillen has to offer so we were accessed quite rigorously,” said Cllr Garrity.
In order to be awarded, the judges must feel that successful towns are safe and welcoming, while getting home after an evening out is crucial, as is the ability to move around the centre on foot with ease. It is also necessary to offer a vibrant choice of leisure and entertainment for a diversity of ages, groups, lifestyles and cultures.
Speaking about the Purple Flag award, Pat Blake, Blake’s of the Hollow, said: “We in Blake’s fully support the Council with the Purple Flag scheme. It is so important that our customers and visitors to Enniskillen feel safe and enjoy our pubs, restaurants and all business that operate at night. I am delighted that Enniskillen passed the assessment and we should really celebrate it!”
At the same event, Enniskillen BID was chosen for the Best Business Support Scheme for their work on the Enniskillen gift card which was launched towards the end of last year to promote shopping local.
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