Hull’s hugely successful Freedom Festival could play a big part in the city’s bid for Purple Flag status, which symbolises the safety, quality and diversity of a city centre’s evening economy. Inspectors from the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM), who award the standard, visited Hull city centre from the early evening of Saturday 8 September into the small hours of the next day. They were accompanied on their tour by representatives of the various organisations who are working jointly to secure the accreditation, including Hull BID, Humberside Police, Hull City Council, Hull Citysafe and the Primary Care Trust. A decision from the inspectors is expected within the next two months and Kathryn Shillito, Hull BID City Centre Manager, said all involved had worked hard to give the city every chance of success. “In some ways it was a bit of a gamble being inspected on the weekend of the Freedom Festival when thousands would descend on the city,” said Kathryn. “But there was so much activity. The city was buzzing, and the police have confirmed there were no major problems at all. “That doesn’t mean we are over-confident though because the inspectors have their own strict criteria and we…

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