Letter to stakeholders

Since the meeting in May there have been positive conversations about the role and an agreement was reached that saw Carly leave the position on 5 July 2026.

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As many of you will know, Carly has been the driving force behind Bristol Nights since her appointment in 2021. Building on the earlier Bristol @ Night advisory structure, Carly would go on to develop and lead Bristol Nights, strengthening collaboration between the Council, businesses, venues, promoters, festivals, cultural organisations, public health partners, emergency services, universities, students’ unions and communities across the city.

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Working alongside partners from across Bristol’s Night Time Economy, Carly led and supported initiatives that have improved safety, wellbeing, inclusion and sustainability within the city’s nightlife, music and cultural sectors. These include providing leadership and partnership support for the development of programmes including Bristol Rules, the Women’s Safety Charter and Safer Spaces training, Stop Spiking, Thrive at Night, Design the Night, harm reduction guidance, and research into changing nightlife trends in partnership with the University of Bristol.

During this time Bristol gained national and international recognition for the innovative approach taken to supporting nightlife, including Music Cities Awards for Bristol Rules in 2021 and the Women’s Safety Charter in 2024.

Carly has also led the design and development of A Ticket to the Future and the Bristol Music Fund, a ground breaking proposal for long-term, sector-led investment in Bristol’s music ecosystem. In September 2025, the Council’s Economy and Skills Policy Committee approved the roadmap to establish a Community Benefit Society to take the work forward. A Ticket To The Future won the Music Cities Award for Best Music Policy at the 2026 Music Cities Awards, which marks the third Music Cities Award for Bristol Nights.

I want to take this opportunity to share with you my gratitude for the work Carly has undertaken over the past five years and for her dedication to driving action to help shape an inclusive, safe, vibrant and sustainable sector for us all to benefit from. I recognise that as Carly leaves the role, her efforts and unique talents leave a positive legacy to carry forward onto further success for our Night Time Economy. She leaves with our best wishes for the future.

A further update on the now vacant role of Night Time Economy Advisor will be brought to the Economy and Skills Policy Committee on 27 July. Papers for this meeting will be published on the council website a week before this meeting and will be accessible on the council website. We will be reaching out to key stakeholders to get your views on the future of this work.

To close this update, I wish to share with you some personal comments from Carly:

“Championing Bristol’s Night Time Economy has been one of the greatest honours of my career. Everything we have achieved has been through partnership and collaboration, and I am incredibly proud of the work we have built together.

“Bristol’s night is powered by extraordinary people: venues, artists, promoters, programmers, festivals, workers, crews, public health partners, universities, emergency services, communities and audiences. They are the people who make the city come alive after dark.

“I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to Bristol Nights and the Bristol Music Fund, and I remain deeply committed to the right to the night, to safety and wellbeing, and to the people who create culture after dark. This is a transition, not an ending for the work itself, and I wish everyone involved in its next phase every success.”

Carly Heath

Best regards,

John Smith

Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration

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