Central Bedfordshire Council news and press releases

Recognising the Best Bar None in Central Bedfordshire

Monday, 30 January 2023

Some of Central Bedfordshire’s most popular pubs, clubs, and bars were celebrated at an awards ceremony held at The Rufus Centre in Flitwick on Thursday evening (26 January).

Overall winners of Best Bar None 2023: The Bell Inn, Woburn and Councillor Dixon

This was the sixth Best Bar None award evening in Central Bedfordshire and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheme raises standards by rewarding excellence through audits and an annual award scheme to promote responsible management and operation of alcohol-licensed premises.

Local pubs, bars and clubs entered themselves into an assessment process, which took place between September and December 2022, to meet the specific standards required by the scheme. All accredited venues received a plaque to display showing they are a Best Bar None accredited venue.

This year, we rolled out the scheme to the whole of Central Bedfordshire. In total, 13 venues were invited to attend and receive their accreditation, and the two category winners were announced.

The awards ceremony highlighted venues that have gone the extra mile to make Central Bedfordshire a safe and welcoming place for visitors.

The Stag, Leighton Buzzard, won the Assessors' Choice Award. This award was decided by the assessors based on the venue's preparation ahead of the assessment and engagement with the scheme.

The Overall Winner Award went to The Bell Inn, Woburn. This award is based on the highest score of all the assessments carried out across all accredited venues and The Bell will be invited to attend the House of Lords for the National Best Bar None Awards.

Councillor Steven Dixon, our Executive Member for Sustainability and Public Protection, said:

Due to the global pandemic and the necessary restrictions imposed, the Best Bar None Scheme has not taken place since 2019/20 so this year it is a welcome return to celebrate some of our best venues across Central Bedfordshire.

It is a great pleasure to reward the winning venues, as they truly are the Best Bar None. Customers can have confidence when visiting any of the premises bearing the Best Bar None logo that they are visiting a safe, well-run social space and we hope that more local pubs, bars and clubs will put themselves forward for accreditation in 2023.

Congratulations to all our venues for their commitment to excellence, demonstrating that customer care and safety are their top priority for their customers.