Glasgow Community and Safety Services – News
September Weekend sees Launch of New Nite Zones in Merchant City and West End
This September Weekend will see Glasgow become even safer with the launch of two new Nite Zones to help people get home quickly and safely from their nights out.
The staffed zones, which will be in Albion Street in the Merchant City and Byres Road in the west end, are an extension of existing Nite Zones which have been operating in Gordon Street and Sauchiehall Street since 2005, and will offer dedicated marshalls to ensure the safety of people queuing for taxis, dedicated CCTV cameras, and better street lighting for visibility.
To launch the city’s new Nite Zones, which will operate every week from Friday 24th September, Glasgow City Council’s Leader, Gordon Matheson joined forces with Chief Superintendent Bernard Higgins of Strathclyde Police, and Phil Walker, Managing Director of Glasgow Community and Safety Services, to highlight the success of the city centre’s Nite Zone initiative and reassure members of the public that their safety is of paramount importance.
Council Leader Gordon Matheson said, “We are working together with our colleagues in the public and private sectors to ensure that the many thousands of visitors on nights out in Glasgow each weekend enjoy their experience and come back again. Nite Zones have helped to significantly reduce levels of violent crime in recent years by creating safe areas for people to wait for transport home. We believe that expanding an already successful concept will lead to fewer incidents and will build on the city’s reputation of being a safe and enjoyable place to visit at weekends.”
Phil Walker, Managing Director of Glasgow Community and Safety Services added, “The Nite Zones in the city centre have already collectively ensured the safety of more than 2,500,000 people using the city’s pubs, bars and night clubs. We are rolling this out to the Merchant City and West End so that even more visitors to the city can easily access a safe route home.”
Strathclyde Police’s City Centre Commander, Chief Superintendent Bernard Higgins expressed his support for the initiative, saying “The extension of the Nite Zone to take in the Merchant City and Byres Road is a positive step which will enhance the service provision we currently provide, and demonstrates the determination of the council, police and GCSS to work together to make Glasgow city centre one of the safest places to visit in the UK”
As with the existing Nite Zones, stewards will be present to ensure that queue jumping and acts of spontaneous violence are eradicated, and Glasgow Taxis Ltd will provide representatives to ensure sufficient taxis to match the queues, making the process quick and easy for people to get home. The city’s four Nite Zones form part of Strathclyde Police’s Policing Plan at the weekends, and all staff working at the ranks are provided with radios allowing them to report developing incidents to ensure a fast response by the police.
Local pubs, bars and night clubs are also supporting the scheme by providing information to their customers about the nearest ‘zones’ to the respective venues.
For further information please contact Jennifer Clark on 0141 276 7495 or 07799320461.
1. The Nite Zone initiative was launched in December 2005 in Gordon Street and in Sauchiehall Street in June 2006. A seasonal zone has been established in Byres Road over the festive period since 2007.
2. Nite Zones operate every Friday and Saturday nights as follows:
Gordon Street – 11pm – 5am
Sauchiehall Street – 11pm – 5am
Albion Street – 11pm – 4am
Byres Road – 10pm – 2am