Barnsley town centre celebrates seventh consecutive Purple Flag accreditation

Barnsley town centre has been awarded Purple Flag accreditation for a seventh successive year in recognition of its commitment to creating a safe and vibrant evening and night-time economy (ENTE).

Purple Flag – like the Blue Flag for beaches – aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 5pm and 5am. This prestigious award highlights Barnsley's blend of entertainment, dining, and culture, all while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of residents and visitors in the evening and night-time economy.

Key successes noted in our submission included an animated, informative and well-organised assessment evening, a strong partnership with licensed trade representation who were clearly proud of their town centre, and the comprehensive and inclusive Safer Barnsley Partnership Plan.

We were also commended for action taken from previous assessment feedback, the quality of our submission, and having a strategic alignment to the Town Centre Plan.

An exciting and varied programme helped to bring 9.2 million visitors to Barnsley's town centre in 2024/25 thanks to events like the Barnsley Book Festival, International Food Markets, Barnsley Garden Party, Barnsley Live, Big Weekend, the Barnsley 10k, Bright Nights and the Christmas Market.

The recently unveiled events calendar for 2026 promises more of the same from mouth‑watering international markets and spectacular summer weekends to races and dazzling winter lights.

Councillor Robin Franklin, Cabinet spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said:

"It's fantastic news that Barnsley town centre has secured Purple Flag accreditation for a seventh successive year.

"This continued recognition is a testament to the hard work of our staff and partners in the public and private sector, who work together fabulously to make the town centre's evening and night-time economy a success.

“My thanks go to everyone involved in this magnificent achievement, including the Purple Flag partnership and the Barnsley Town Board for its oversight of the Town Centre Plan and ensuring that the evening and night-time economy is included in the next phase of regeneration through the Pride in Place programme.

“We’ll continue to build on this success, with our new Destination Management Plan laying out our ambitions to put Barnsley firmly on the map as a great place for people to visit, stay and enjoy, while supporting local jobs and businesses.

"By providing a safe, welcoming and vibrant environment for residents and visitors, we’re making Barnsley a place which offers something for everyone to enjoy, day or night.”

Edward Naylor, Chair of the Barnsley Town Board, added:

"Barnsley is an exciting and vibrant town, and it is great to receive external recognition of this once again.

“The Towns Board has been delighted to support all the hard work which has gone into securing reaccreditation.”

Barnsley's Purple Flag partnership includes Barnsley Council’s licensing team, the Violence Reduction Unit, Barnsley Hospital, Trading Standards, Safer Neighbourhood Service, Street Pastors, Barnsley Recovery Steps, Doyle Security, South Yorkshire Police, and licensed premises and staff.