Every significant commercial stakeholder in Waterford city centre, along with An Garda Síochána and the Port of Waterford, has committed to examining the ‘Purple Flag’ programme and its potential implementation.
So what journey are the stakeholders, which pit their combined nous under the City Centre Management Group (CCMG) umbrella, set to embark upon?
“Purple Flag centres offer the highest quality in shopping, dining, pubs and entertainment, ensuring a visitor has all they need for a great evening out,” explained Waterford Business Group Chairman Eddie Mulligan.
“The award, which is bestowed by the Association of Town Centre Management, is an accreditation programme that honours excellence in the appeal and management of a town or city centre between the hours of 5pm and 5am.
“This collaborative approach by the city stakeholders to this programme should, in a relatively short period of time, deliver an economic boost for the city and help promote Waterford on a regional, national and international basis.”
Echoing Mr Mulligan’s sentiments, Waterford City Council’s Lar Power stated: “The CCMG has been working extremely hard over the last number of weeks to assess the viability and suitability of the Purple Flag programme for Waterford city.
“A number of members have already attended an information day in Dublin, and once the CCMG received appropriate feedback, we collectively decided to commit to the Purple Flag programme, with the support of all of the stakeholders.
“We will now work towards the next stage in the programme application process and will give further updates in due course.”
Meanwhile, the CCMG is to hold a security information evening at the Granville Hotel on Wednesday next, April 23rd, running from 6 to 7.30pm.
The presentation shall feature updates from the Garda, including news of the ‘Safe City’ initiative, while Waterford Business Group will provide a ‘Retail Watch’ update, along with expansion plans.
The group will also update attendants about the launch of the ‘Walk To Me’ app.
The CCMG is composed of members of Waterford City Council including the Mayor’s office and Councillors, Waterford Chamber, Waterford Business Group, the Gardaí, Tidy Towns, local auctioneers, City Square Shopping Centre (including Debenhams) and the Port of Waterford.
Dermot Keyes
