Managing the Evening Economy Award
Bangor & Holywood Town Centres Ltd has been awarded the Northern Ireland Association of Town Centre Management award for ‘Managing the Evening Economy.’
Martin Blackwell, Regional Development Director for ATCM and Chair of the judging panel, confirmed, “The standard of entries in Northern Ireland, which is one of 12 competitions across the UK, was remarkable. It really does highlight the quality and variety of projects being undertaken in our towns and cities, through Town Centre Management, to enhance our town centres for the benefit of all. To win an Award is a great achievement and well deserved. This is particularly true of N Ireland as the number of entries was the highest in the UK to date”.
The Evening Economy project in Bangor came about following a debate within the Town Centre Management Board. Town Centre Management initiated a conference to bring together all parties interested in the evening economy to work together on eradicating the town’s image of being unsafe and dominated by anti-social behaviour.
The conference brought key agencies together to agree on collective ownership of the evening economy. Town Centre Management agreed to manage the partnership, which was formed from the conference to improve the town’s evening economy.
The outcome of the conference was the ‘Agenda for Change.’ This provided a specific plan for future action and a shared vision for tackling the issues. The conference brought together local publicans and provided the catalyst for the creation of the Bangor & District Local Vintners Association.
Garda officers from Dublin were invited to Bangor to discuss their experiences in the Temple Bar area. They shared their view on best practice with Bangor Police officers and this is turn helped them change their night time policing tactics.
The ‘Agenda for Change’ has created a vision for the future where previously nothing existed. It has helped in establishing a number of sub-projects, which are still ongoing. These projects include – Licensed door staff, a ‘Proof of Age Card’, CCTV, Radio linked door staff, Late night town centre buses and High visibility jackets for PSNI officers.
Town Centre Manager Board member Dennis Ogborn said ‘This award is not just for the Town Centre Management Company, it is recognition of the four years of hard work that has gone into making this project happen and for all the partnerships who have come together for the benefit of the town and are making a significant step in tackling anti-social behaviour which plagued our town in the late 1990’s. We are delighted to receive this award, which shows we are making steps in the right direction to tackling the issues. We know we cannot afford to stop now and we must continue the process.’
