Colmore BID, one of the UK’s leading Business Improvement Districts, has become the first BID in the UK to provide users of the Hollie Guard personal safety app with a safer and more secure hospitality experience whilst out and about within the Colmore Business District.
The initiative is part of Colmore BID’s strategy to tackle violence, abuse and intimidation of women and girls. It will see API location data provided by BIDBase, shared with the Hollie Guard app’s interactive mapping system, show venues within the Colmore Business District which participate in the Ask for Angela and Licensing SAVI personal safety, security, and vulnerability schemes.
Users of the Hollie Guard app within the Colmore Business District will see ‘pins on maps’ which will signpost app users to their nearest safe place if they feel unsafe or just want to enjoy their hospitality visit within one of the BID’s safe and welcoming accredited venues. Mike Mounfield, Projects Manager at Colmore BID commented: “Colmore BID is delighted to be working with BIDBase Software Limited and the Hollie Gazzard Trust to highlight hospitality venues offering customer safety schemes in their premises.
“The other 40+ BIDs across the UK using BIDBase will now be able make safer hospitality venues visible via the Hollie Guard app, which is another vital step forward in keeping us safe across the country.” Richard Gray, National Ambassador Lead at the Hollie Gazzard Trust added: “We’re so pleased to be working with Colmore BID and BIDBase to add safer space locations to our police-approved Hollie Guard personal safety app and continue to support the team at the BID to enhance their current safety initiatives through this strong partnership.
“In practice, this means that anyone with the Hollie Guard app on their smartphone can identify safe spaces within the area and can be directed to the relevant space using the journey feature within the Hollie Guard app.” Within the Colmore Business District, there are 42 hospitality venues that take part in the national Ask for Angela scheme, which helps anyone who is feeling vulnerable on a night out to get the support they need.
There are also five venues which are accredited with the National Police Chief’s Council backed Licencing Security and Vulnerability Initiative (Licencing SAVI). This is designed to help licensed premises provide a safer and more secure environment for their managers, staff, customers, and local communities.
The accredited venues within the Colmore Business District are The Square Peg, Primitivo Bar and Eatery, Fazenda, Purecraft Bar and Kitchen, and The Old Joint Stock. Colmore BID enjoys a strong partnership with The Hollie Gazzard Trust, which was created following the murder of 20-year-old Hollie Gazzard in Gloucester in 2014 by an ex-partner.
Set up by parents Nick and Mandy, along with sister Chloe, the charity helps reduce domestic violence through creating and delivering programmes on domestic abuse and promoting healthy relationships to schools and colleges. The ultimate aim of the Trust is to positively change the lives of young people through partnerships in communities, as well as working alongside other charities and professional agencies.
Since 2014, Nick Gazzard has dedicated his life to helping protect people from abuse. He has been instrumental in developing concepts including Hollie Guard, a next-generation smartphone personal safety app, the only such app endorsed nationally by UK policing. Every five seconds the platform updates the precise location of the user, based on their speed and movement activity to identify where they are once an alert has been raised.
