Three ' s not crowd enough
Bristol ’ s first night time economy advisor Carly Heath questions why so few UK city councils have someone championing an industry that pre-pandemic was worth over £ 66 billion to the UK economy .
The city doesn ’ t stop at 6 o ’ clock , it comes alive . The night time economy is the beating heart of our communities . If you work normal office hours , when you ’ re not at work , you ’ re in the night time . Every single city , town and village across this country have some form of a night time economy , whether it ’ s your local country pub , a thriving road of restaurants , or a super-club playing dusk till dawn . Every single one of these businesses is given a premise licence from its local authority and operates within the confines of the local licencing committee . Why then do the needs of the night time not have representation in every single council across this country ?
In the UK we have three night time representatives . Amy Lamé as the night czar for London , Sacha Lord the night time economy advisor for Manchester , and myself in Bristol . Three people to represent an industry that pre-pandemic was worth more than £ 66bn to the economy and , for a city like Bristol , represents a third of our workforce .
Night time gets a bad
Yasmin Galletti
reputation with local councils . We generate noise complaints , we demand transportation to operate at sensible times , we bring people into town centres , which creates work for our police forces , ambulance crews and street cleansing teams … but we ’ ve witnessed the alternative during the darkest
“ The city doesn ' t stop at 6pm , and the needs of the night should be represented at a policy level if we are to flourish as 24-hour cities .”
days of lockdowns . What is a city without nightlife ? It ’ s a soulless collection of buildings , unused , quiet . Unloved . Cities are meant to be lived in , and people move into urban areas because they want the opportunities the city offers . They want to live somewhere that ’ s vibrant . We should be able to access the city for another reason than simply working in an office , or shopping and retail .
The job of a night time advisor goes way beyond pubs , clubs , anti-social behaviour , and students falling out of kebab shops at 3am . We touch into
licencing , planning , policy , commercial waste , mental health , drug and alcohol harm reduction , women ’ s safety , economic development , and high street recovery . Councils across the country work hard to work with the sector to deliver change , whether through protecting existing venues from developers with agent of change , facilitating festivals within the city or creating an environment for meanwhile use buildings to be co-opted as popup venues . Every town and city tackles nightlife differently , and we deserve representation in every local authority .
And just as the city doesn ’ t stop at 6 o ’ clock , neither does our influence . We are at the centre of so many conversations around women ’ s safety at night , as if nightlife is the source of misogyny and our problem alone to solve . The work I ’ m doing in Bristol around recognising , tackling , and standing up against sexual harassment in our city is the bedrock of tackling gender inequality . We can have all the will in the world to ‘ smash the patriarchy ’, but nightlife can be a cornerstone of helping to make this happen .
I see the job of night governance as something of a ‘ cultural gardener ’. We nurture the environment for creativity and life to flourish . It ’ s our job to put in the groundwork . The creatives come in and provide the ‘ vibrancy ’, the population come in and provide the ‘ life ’. The Night Time Economy is an extremely important part of British culture . The city doesn ’ t stop at 6pm , and the needs of the night should be represented at a policy level if we are to flourish as 24-hour cities .
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