Mansfield officially remains a great place to enjoy a fun and safe evening out.

It has retained Purple Flag status — an accreditation scheme that recognises excellence in the management of town and city centres at night.

Mansfield was visited by two independent assessors from the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) and presented evidence to demonstrate what the town has to offer and how it is run.

They spent a night in the town, visiting bars and restaurants, speaking to street pastors and managers of licensed premises and restaurants, and going to the police station and CCTV control room.

Led by Mansfield BID, a team involving representatives from Mansfield Association of Licensed Venues (MALV), Mansfield Community Partnership, Mansfield District Council and the police has worked towards the award.

Licensed venues, attractions such as the Palace Theatre and Old Library, and Vision West Nottinghamshire College played their part in the work, helping with promotion of Purple Flag events and joining in partnership actions.

Mansfield first achieved Purple Flag status in 2014 and since then has seen footfall increase, new bars open and national names, including Bella Italia and Nando’s, opened outlets.

Speaking on behalf of the Purple Flag steering group, Sarah Nelson, Mansfield Business Improvement District (BID) manager, said: “Over the past two years Mansfield has taken huge steps forwards in shaking off its outdated reputation for being somewhere to avoid in the evening. Purple Flag has helped with this and will continue to do so.”

The Purple Flag steering group will meet in the near future to discuss a celebration of the achievement for the town.