Best Bar None - the UK's national awards scheme for best practice in the licensed trade

100 delegates met in Durham yesterday at the 3^rd Annual National Best Bar None Practitioners Conference generously sponsored by Heineken, whose support enabled Best Bar None to provide this extremely valuable event for its practitioners.

 Held in Durham, home to the 2009 Best Bar None Most Innovative Scheme Winners – Durham BBN, delegates enjoyed an evening tour of the City’s top Best Bar None accredited nightspots hosted by BBN Durham, before rising the next day to attend the main event.

 Lord Redesdale, Chairman of Best Bar None opened the conference, challenging attendees to learn more about how to get the most out of their schemes and expand the excellent work of Best Bar None schemes nationally.

 Jon Stoddart, Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary, followed sharing his experiences of the benefits of Durham’s Best Bar None’s scheme on the reduction of alcohol harm in the city, emphasising its vital role in significantly reducing crime in the city.

 Speaking after his presentation Jon Stoddart said “Best Bar None Durham is a fantastic success story. It would be great to see more cities gaining the benefits that we have seen by embarking on a Best Bar None Scheme. It has been a major contributor to safety in Durham city centre”

Continuing with optional breakout sessions delegates were able to tailor their day to meet their needs with panel sessions sharing key messages including How to develop a Best Bar None Scheme from Carol Feenan, Success Stories from Licensee winner, Nick Simmonite, and Responsible Drinks Promotions from Mark Baird, Diageo.

 Neil Robertson, Chief Executive of Best Bar None, provided delegates with updates on the National Best Bar None strategy and its successes so far including; news that the national NHS saving in the UK of £35,533,333 for 100 BBN schemes, Scheme statistics show a 10 - 48% reduction in Violence against the person overall. Reporting Dr Alex Kenyon, Leeds Metropolitan University’s findings, Neil informed attendees that there are 70% fewer police call outs to alcohol related crime at BBN venues, and reports for the fire service indicate a dramatic decrease in both time and money being invested in fire assessments needing to be carried out.

 The Annual Best Bar None Most Innovative Scheme, always a highlight of this event, again provided delegates with an excellent insight into the fantastic work being undertaken by the top schemes in the country. This year Ceredigion, Ipswich, Doncaster and Plymouth Best Bar None Schemes provided plenty of sharing of best practice and food for thought. And Best Bar None are delighted to announce the winners of the 2010 Best Bar None Most Innovative Scheme Award – Ipswich BBN who fought off competition from the other schemes with their enthusiasm, drive and innovative student involvement in their work.

 Attendees at the event stated that:

 Bob Senior, Licensee - Best Overall Winner, Durham “It’s refreshing to see the traction and momentum building with best bar none which we can shout about where as individually we have whispered”

 Joe Curran, Oldham Best Bar None “The Conference was inspirational and informative. Having listened to experienced operators of the scheme Oldham will certainly benefit from this conference”

 Carol Feenan, Durham Best Bar None “Hosting this year’s conference was a real privilege and thoroughly enjoyable. Delegates have said the conference was excellent, speakers were all good and the venue was great. So we really couldn’t have asked for anything more. I wish my colleagues in Ipswich the very best of luck for next year’s conference and I can’t wait!”

 Neil Robertson, Chief Executive of Best Bar None closed the event with one final announcement National Best Bar None’s new strapline. ‘Raising the Bar’ created by Joe Curran, Oldham Best Bar None as part of a nation wide competition for schemes.