The number of venues gaining accreditation to Nottingham city centre’s Best Bar None scheme has risen by nearly 50% this year.
A record 75 bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants have been admitted to the initiative which promotes responsible and effective management of licensed premises for a safe environment at night.
Run by the Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) since 2010, this is a 47% increase on last year’s total of 51 venues receiving accreditation.
The BID team put the growth down to more venues recognising the importance of the scheme to their business, an increase in the number of licensed venues in the city centre and the introduction of a separate restaurant category for the scheme’s annual awards.
For the first time this year, the premises that gained accreditation received a bronze, silver or gold award depending on the score that they received. The highest-scoring premises will go through to independent judging by industry experts to arrive at the top venue in four categories: best bar, best pub, best club and best restaurant.
These will be announced at a Best Bar None celebration event for all accredited venues on June 1 at Alea Casino. From the four category winners, judges will choose an overall Best Bar None winner which will be announced at the Nottingham Post Food and Drink Awards on June 22.
Andrew Crawford, a director of the Nottingham BID, said: “We are delighted that a record number of venues in the city centre have been successful in securing Best Bar None accreditation. There has been a huge effort by the BID team to encourage as many licensed premises as possible to apply.
“The fact that so many have been successful, shows that venues are achieving higher standards, making Nottingham city centre a safer and better place to visit.”
Best Bar None is a national initiative, supported by the Home Office. To achieve Best Bar None status, venues have to demonstrate that they have policies and procedures in place to prove that they are safe, responsible and well operated and also comply with relevant legislation.
They are then assessed on areas such as the prevention of crime and disorder, measures they take to promote responsible drinking, their standards of safety and customer care, how they prevent and deal with public nuisance issues, the measures they have in place to protect children from harm, and their approach to community engagement including membership of initiatives such as Pub Watch and charities.
All the venues that have been successful in gaining the accreditation have received a certificate and window sticker that they can display to show that they are a Best Bar None accredited venue. They also enjoy a number of benefits including increased footfall and turnover through the safe night-time economy that the scheme has created, stronger relationships with the police and local authorities, and a reduction in the premiums for some insurance policies.
Nottingham’s 2016 accredited venues
Bars (gold)
Das Kino
Rescue Rooms
Cape
The Bodega
All Bar One
Lloyds No 1
Revolution Cornerhouse
Malt Cross
Suede
Revolution Hockley
National Ice Centre
Bad JuJu/Rum House
Cookie Lounge
Genting Casino
Copper
Browns
The Bunker
The Waterfront
The Approach
Alea Casino
Broadway Café Bar
Slug and Lettuce
Junkyard
Boilermaker
Bars (silver)
Curious Manner
Grosvenor Casino
Yates
Missoula
Ride
Saint Bar Lace Market Hotel
Bars (bronze)
Spanky Van Dykes
Pubs (gold)
Squares
Horn in Hand
The Company Inn
Pit & Pendulum
The Major Oak
New Foresters
The Roebuck
The Cross Keys
The Ropewalk
Joseph Else
Royal Children
The Canalhouse
Keans Head
The Lord Roberts
Pubs (silver)
The Golden Fleece
The Gatehouse
Bunkers Hill
The Gooseberry Bush
The Castle
The Ned Ludd
Cock and Hoop
The Three Crowns
Pubs (bronze)
The Bank
Clubs (gold)
Bowery Club
Stealth
Volt
Rock City
Ink
The Forum
Oceana (Pryzm)
Market Bar
Clubs (silver)
NG1
Restaurants (gold)
Bistro Live
Annie’s Burger Shack
Sinatra
Restaurants (silver)
Last Chance Saloon
Cast @ Playhouse
Cosmo
Fothergills
The Calcutta Club
Chino Latino
Restaurants (bronze)
Ask Italian
Las Iguanas
Harvester
