Posted on 25th Aug
Mansfield town centre will find out this month if it is one of the top three nominations for a prestigious national award.
A colourful initiative that helped celebrate the town’s Purple Flag accreditation has been put forward for the Great British High Street awards.
If the town makes the top three the public will be asked to vote for their favourite.
In 2014, Mansfield was awarded Purple Flag status, a national endorsement of its work to create a vibrant, and safe, night-time and evening economy.
The partners involved in getting the status included Mansfield BID, Mansfield district and Nottinghamshire county councils, Nottinghamshire Police, Healthy High Street businesses, the Mansfield Alcohol Licensed Venues group, and volunteers.
To celebrate, the partners worked on a Painting Mansfield Purple evening, which was a day of events in April 2015 to spread the word about Purple Flag.
That event, which was the result of successful partnership working, was put forward for the awards’ town centre category, which are supported by the Association of Town and City Management and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Sarah Nelson, BID manager, said: “Achieving Purple Flag status is a major thing for towns and cities across the UK so it was especially pleasing that Mansfield was able to get the accolade.
“Painting Mansfield Purple was the culmination of a number of events and initiatives that helped to show all partners, businesses and members of the pubic just what a great town we have and why Purple Flag is important.
“All of the people involved were able to use their networks and connections to great effect, ensuring that the momentum was kept up, particularly as we have to demonstrate a commitment to Purple Flag standards in order to retain it.”
The Purple Flag celebration event included heritage trails being developed, shop and business windows being dressed in purple, fashion and beauty shows, a Purple Flash mob dance, and a party.
It also included a Lightbox exhibition first displayed in Portugal that made its UK debut in Mansfield town centre.
