General event organising advice and good practice

Aims: What is the purpose of the event? What do you want it to achieve? What are your goals?

Audience: Who is your audience? Always remember your audience/attendees when making any decisions. What will they need and want? 

Date: When is the best time of year and day of the week to hold your event? Are there any other local or national events which may have an impact on your attendance and general planning? 

Location: Where do you want to hold the event? Can the venue safely accommodate the number of people you expect to attend? 

• Is the ground suitable and the site fully accessible for anybody whose mobility may be impaired? 
• Is there a water and/or power supply if you need this? 
• Is the access suitable for the infrastructure you will be using? 
• Are there any restrictions on how you use the venue? For example will you require Scheduled Monument Consent?
• Is the venue available for your event day(s) as well as the build and break down days? 
• If you would like to use one of our open spaces, consult this document to find out if restrictions apply.
• Does the person who owns the land have the right to permit your event to go ahead? See the section on Permitted Development here.

Timing: Consider the timing and duration of your event. When are your attendees most likely to arrive? Are there limitations on the hours of use in your chosen venue?

Cost to attend: Is the event free or ticketed and how will tickets be sold or booked? 

Budget: What is your budget? Set a spending budget and remember to allow for all planning and running costs including (but not limited to) staffing, stewarding and security, traffic management, promotion, licences, first aid, entertainment, contractors, equipment hire (such as gazebos, staging, seating, power), radios, build crew, staff welfare facilities, etc.

• Consider how you might raise money to pay for the event. Is this through ticket sales? Stall hire fees from traders? Grants? Sponsorship? Source quotes before confirming any suppliers.

Your programme for the day: What entertainment will you provide?

Accessibility: How will people access the venue? Consider how you can make the event accessible to all including those with particular physical, mental, visual, hearing, sensory, processing and other needs.

How will people access the venue? Are transport links adequate for the day of your event? Are there parking, public transport, cycle routes and walking routes available? Do you need to apply to close road via a Temporary Traffic Management Order (TTRO)?

You might want to consider writing a traffic and transport management plan. Such a plan should include information on any TTROs including the roads affected, diversion routes, parking bay suspensions etc. The plan should also consider the potential impact on the local roads and public transport services.

As the event organiser, you have a legal duty to ensure that no one's health, safety or welfare is adversely affected by any aspect of the event (for example attendees, members of the public, staff, volunteers, contractors, entertainers, etc.). See Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 for more info. 

Given that you are legally responsible for the safe running of your event, you may wish to consider using the services of an Event Health and Safety specialist/company. 

The Purple Guide’, published by the Events Industry Forum and supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) contains guidance on how to run an event safely including all legislation relevant to public safety such as RIDDOR 1995 and the Fire Precautions Act 1975. Please read this carefully. An additional guide published by the Sports Ground Safety Authority which focuses on safety at sports grounds and events is also available.

You should submit your event documentation to the District’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to ensure that statutory bodies are made aware of your event including Police, Licencing, Fire Service, and Ambulance Service. It is a requirement for any event on council-owned land to submit their event to SAG. Other events are not obliged to submit to SAG, but it is highly recommended, and the group can be a good source of advice and guidance.

For information on PROTECT and Martyn’s Law see ProtectUK.

Noise control and the prevention of nuisance to local residents is very important. 

Consider how you propose to monitor sound levels. Are there restrictions, sound level limits or conditions attached to your chosen venue, within your contract or licence that you need to adhere to?

Will the position of the sound system and direction of the speakers make a difference to how the sound travels across the venue?

You might want to consider employing a sound specialist to monitor sound in order to make sure that you are compliant at all times.

You may be required to submit a noise management plan which might include taking baseline readings prior to the event taking place and then during the event.

Do you need to arrange a specific phone number for people to call should they be negatively impacted by noise during the event? If this happens, you should have a plan in place of how you plan to deal with this on the day.

In addition to the protection of the public from noise pollution organisers must also consider the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 for those working prior to, during and after the event.

The Council’s policy for events on our land can be found here under the tab 'noise'.

Are you planning to bring in traders to sell food and drink for on-site consumption to your attendees?

You should ensure that all caterers are fully insured and have been registered with their local authority - you may want to consider only working with traders with a Food Hygiene rating of 4 or above. You can check traders' credentials on the Food Standards Agency's website.

Caterers should provide risk assessments and documentation on food journeys. They should bring along fire extinguishers/blankets and have hand-washing facilities available. All staff should be clean, tidy and well trained. 

Are you offering a range of options for all tastes, dietary requirements and communities? For instance do you have vegan, halal and Kosher options available? You can find caterers on the website of The Nationwide Caterers Association 

Please consider sustainability when recruiting caterers. Food and drink packaging and waste is likely to make up the vast majority of the waste generated at your event, your waste management plan should take into account the types of food service items used and provide appropriate recycling and disposal options. Please try and minimise the amount of single-use plastic used at your event.