Preston promotes night time economy

PRESTON is holding a three-day festival at the end of the month to celebrate its night time economy.

Prestfest, which starts on January 30, is organised by the city’s Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with more than 50 venues throughout the city centre.

Jessica Toomey, general manager at the Frog and Bucket comedy club and chairman of the Preston By Night group, said the event would promote the city’s Purple Flag status, an accreditation by the Association of Town Centre Management of a vibrant and safe late night destination.

She said: “Being the only destination in Lancashire to fly the Purple Flag, we are on a mission to shout about why our city centre is a great place to visit at night.  

“We believe Preston offers a unique night-out to people in Lancashire but we recognised the need to evolve and improve our offer to encourage people to come here and keep coming back.

“We held a Prestfest weekend in May 2013, to great acclaim, boosting footfall and trade in many quarters; this time, it will be even better and as an economy, we are really excited.”

Prestfest was first held in October 2011.