Best Bar None awards celebrate making Bury safer in the night time economy

Earlier this week (Tuesday 7 February) the Bury Best Bar None scheme celebrated the achievements of the 12 town centre premises at an awards evening at Ramsbottom Cricket Club where awards were presented by GMP’s Bury District Commander, Chief Superintendent Chris Hill.

Best Bar None Bury was launched in May 2022, since then pubs and bars from Bury town centre have worked tirelessly to improve their standards around polices and staff training in order to make Bury an enjoyable and safe night out for all.

The scheme has been extended to 12 of Bury’s town centre premises and have achieved the nationally recognised accreditation which is also supported by the Home Office as well as Local Authorities and Police Forces across the country.

The scheme sees licensed premises, police and the local authority working together to make our pubs and bars safer.

District Commander, Chief Supt Chris Hill presented the awards along with the Best Bar None Northwest Coordinator, Barry Brown.

Premises have had to review their current practices and policies in relation to a number of criteria such as the use of CCTV, prevention of drugs, how they deal with drunk and disorderly behaviour, reduce alcohol related harm as well as reducing vulnerability.

As well as the presentation the event will also be used to launch the scheme for year 2 which has also seen interest from further across the district such as Ramsbottom, Prestwich as Radcliffe.

Chief Superintendent Chris Hill from GMP’s Bury district, said: “These awards have showcased our close relationship with venues across the Town Centre. It is important we build upon these relationships to make the night time economy safer and more enjoyable for local communities.

“It is fantastic to see such a positive response from the licensees of Bury and the hard work that they have undertaken in order to achieve the Best Bar Non Accreditation.

“The partnership approach is across the Police, Bury Council and the licensees, Best Bar None creates a fantastic framework to raise the standards of licensed premises and make Bury an even safer place for people to visit.

“Because of the work undertaken with schemes such as Best Bar None along with Purple Flag that support,  initiatives such as Ask for Angela and the work to reduce Violence against Women and Girls will allow visitors to feel safer and allow Bury to be a destination that is a great place for people to visit and enjoy.”

Representatives from the Bury scheme have been invited to attend the Best Bar None National Awards event at the House of Lords in London at the end of February where they have been entered for the category of Best New Scheme.