Weston has been awarded the prestigious Purple Flag award for the fourth year in a row.

Towns achieving Purple Flag status are recognised for providing a wide mix of night-time entertainment, while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.

In confirming Purple Flag status for Weston for another year the assessors said: “Weston continues to demonstrate good practice and innovation in the re-development and management of its evening and night-time economy.”

They highlighted a number of initiatives including the Best Bar None safety scheme, and the traffic light scheme which both promote responsible management of pubs, clubs, and restaurants in the area.

The assessors also praised the town’s range of new venues and a five per cent reduction in recorded crime and antisocial behaviour in the area at night.

“The award is testament to the dramatic regeneration we are seeing of the town centre and all the partnership work that goes into reducing night-time economy related crime,” said Cllr Felicity Baker, the council’s executive member for community safety.

“We will continue to work together to ensure people have a good night out in Weston by introducing new initiatives like the Best Bar None scheme which has a track record of making people safer and improving standards in licensed premises across the country.

Weston town centre and BID manager Steve Townsend said: “The Purple Flag initiative completely dovetails with the activities and objectives of both the Town Centre Partnership and Business Improvement District.

“Although we support the night-time economy consistently with our street wardens, radio link and incident recording, the award is not just about safety. Maintaining a vibrant night-time offer has also been key and we are pleased that our restaurant offer continues to improve.

North Somerset neighbourhood inspector Jess Aston said: “It is great that Weston has again retained this important status, which reflects the hard work everyone puts in to keeping the town’s residents, workers and visitors safe.

“Our dedicated weekend Operation Adjudicate continues to help ensure residents and visitors enjoy what the town has to offer in safety.”