CITY chiefs have pledged to work closely with police and other partners in a bid to make York a safer place for a night out.

The move comes whilst residents are growing more intolerant of anti-social behaviour from large groups of revellers on weekend nights.

A meeting of City of York Council’s executive on Thursday decided a wide range of partners will work to raise the standards of York city centre and tackle low-level anti-social behaviour.

Last March the council agreed to make contact with York Business Improvement District (BID), Make It York, and North Yorkshire Police to start exploring a Purple Flag application following a proposal from Liberal Democrat councillors.

Purple Flag is an accreditation process for town and city centres, similar to Green Flag for parks and Blue Flag for beaches.

However, following consultation the city executive voted on embedding the principles of the scheme, rather than applying for a Purple flag.

It measures indicators such as the prevalence of harmful and hazardous drinkers and figures on night time-related accidents and injuries.

Green Group leader Cllr Andy D’Agorne said: “As we are not signing up now to a Purple Flag, shouldn’t we be working to do that by a certain date?

“There is real concern about behaviour at weekends and how safe the city is perceived to be, particularly by families, and people of all ages.

“It’s not just about the large groups of people in the bars; we need to raise the standard.”

Labour Group leader Cllr Janet Looker said there were a lot of issues in Guildhall Ward and they were not just confined to drinking and night time.

“There is blatant use of drug paraphernalia in broad daylight and there seems to be a reluctance to address how we should be dealing with this.”

A report to the executive by Martin Farran, director of Housing Health & Adult Social Care, says: “Despite low crime levels, perception of crime differs between residents and visitors to the city. Visitors view York as a very safe place, adding to its attraction as a destination of choice.

“However, the perception of crime amongst York residents is disproportionately high and tolerance levels are very low in relation particularly to noise and low level anti-social behaviour linked to large groups of revellers.”

York is one of the safest cities in the UK, ranked 3rd in the 15 safest cities and 5th in the Safest University towns and cities.

During the consultation North Yorkshire Police expressed concern that achieving and promoting Purple Flag status could lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour and York’s popularity as a drinking destination.