Over Christmas, the Bath BID Night Marshals will be working extra shifts to ensure that Bath is a fun, but safe, place in which to celebrate the festive season with a night out this year.
For most of the year, the BID Night Marshals are on duty on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
This year they will also be ensuring the public’s safety on Christmas Eve as well as New Year’s Eve, both of which fall on a Wednesday evening this year.
On average there will be six marshals on duty per evening although this will be increased to seven on New Year’s Eve with the addition of a medic to the team.
The Night Marshals are a part of the Business Improvement District managed Nightwatch Scheme which has been running for the past three and a half years enabling licensees, police and CCTV operators, as well as the BID Night Marshals, to communicate effectively over city security issues by using smart radio technology.
Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive of Bath Business Improvement District said: “Throughout the year the BID Night Marshals ensure that Bath’s night time economy is able to flourish in a safe environment.
“Their work helping those who are enjoying a night out in the city is particularly important at this time of year with thousands of extra people making the most of the holiday period in the city.
“One of our main goals at the Bath BID is making the city as attractive a place as possible for people to visit, whether by day or night and the BID Night Marshals play an integral part in fulfilling that goal.
David Dixon of Bath & North East Somerset Council, who also part fund BID the Night Marshals initiative, said: “The Night Watch Scheme put in place by the Bath Business Improvement District has been hugely successful in raising the profile of Bath as having a safe and secure night time economy.
“As the festive time is such a busy time it is good practice to have extra staff on board to ensure that our reputation is maintained.”
