Event planning
Whether your event is large or small, we can offer advice about the planning process, as well as guidance on the requirements of hosting your event. We can also provide guidance if you are planning to hold an event in one of our parks, green spaces or in one of our town centres.
Where to start?
Our event planning guide is a good place to start as it helps you to understand the different elements of event planning. You can use this, alongside national guidance, to get a better understanding of everything involved in planning and running an event.
Who do I need to tell?
There are a number of our departments and partner organisations, such as Nottinghamshire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service, who may need to know about your event.
So that you can get the guidance and support you need you will need to complete the Event booking form:
Event booking form (download a form)
Our events team will then identify which of our departments need to be notified and put you in contact with them. In some circumstances a Safety Advisory Group meeting may be suggested.
Notice periods for events held on our land
Please be aware that you should, as the event organiser provide adequate notice of your event if you are planning to hold your event on our land:
- 9 months notice for events involving 5,000 or more people
- 6 months notice for events involving 1,000 – 4,999 people
- 3 months notice for all other events
If you want to hold an event in one of our parks or on our land, you will need to complete an Event booking form, a risk assessment and sign our terms and conditions, all available from the related document section of this page. Depending on the nature and size of your event, you may need to complete an event safety management plan and attend a safety advisory group, and a cost may be incurred. The fees are as follows:
| Parks/Open spaces land booking day rates | Net | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charity/Not for profit events *fee applied if staff and changing rooms required | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Private/Commercial Events including training courses (small approx. football pitch size) | Starting at £125.00, up to £625.00 | £25.00 to £125.00 | From £150.00 to £750.00 |
| Funfair per day (excludes food - see prices below) Maximum of 7 days | Starting at £179.17, up to £187.50 | £35.83 to £37.50 | From £215.00 to £225.00 |
| Food serving vehicles or stalls | Net | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot food/catering van | £150.00 | £30.00 | £180.00 |
| Ice cream van or fun fair sweet stalls | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
Event safety management plan and documents
The event safety management plan is a useful document for an event organiser as it keeps all your plans and procedures in one place and helps you to make sure you have considered all the event requirements and eventualities. You may not need to complete all the sections dependent on your event.
An Event safety management plan template and guidance document is available to help you develop your plans.
Each event will require a completed Risk Assessment to identify and mitigate all eventualities. We have provided a Risk Assessment template for you, which offers options as well as guidance on what risks may be relevant to your event. Once completed, you will need to send your Event safety management plan to us for checking and sign off 3 months (or more) before the date your event is due to take place on. For large scale events, we would need to see your plans at between 6 to 9 months prior to the event date.
Both documents are available for download from the relevant documents section of this page.
Safety advisory groups (SAGs)
Organisers of large-scale events, those which have unusual or hazardous elements, or those with no previous history of running events in the area will be invited to attend an Event Safety Advisory Group (event SAG) meeting, which take place in the area where the event is due to take place in. A safety advisory group will use your event safety management plan to understand the details of your event. The group aims to support you in the planning process.
Event SAGs provide a single point of contact for organisers, and ensure that all agencies are aware of public events taking place in the local area. In Nottinghamshire, each district and borough council organises SAGs for events in their area. We are responsible for SAGs for events in the Ashfield District.
The SAG does not replace event planning meetings and as an event organiser, you should ensure that these have taken place and the event management plan has been written (at least in draft) before attending the SAG. The role of the Safety Advisory Group is advisory and the legal responsibility for the safe running of the event remains with you, the event organiser.
As an organisation, we are not responsible for the safety of your event but can assist event organisers in understanding their own legal responsibilities. Events can be extremely diverse and therefore this guidance cannot be considered exhaustive, especially in terms of legislative guidance. If necessary, please contact us to discuss where further specialist advice might be required.
First aid
As the organiser of any event, you will be responsible for making sure adequate medical cover is provided. The East Midlands Ambulance Service has produced guidance on medical cover for events and an event medical cover calculator (see related links) to help you plan for this. These documents will help you understand your responsibilities and give you an idea of the level of cover you will need for your particular event.
Security
You are advised to have professional security staff at your event, to deal with any issues that may arise. You should select a company who have SIA badged members of staff. A register of approved contractors is available on the government website:
Road closures
If your event will affect access to public roads or pavements, including any road closures, you will need to apply at least one month before the event to Nottinghamshire County Council.
It may not be possible to close a road where access requirements need to be maintained. The Council will discuss alternatives with you directly.
If your application is successful Nottinghamshire County Council, in partnership with Via, will supply a set of signs for a ‘standard’ road closure free of charge.
Events in our parks and on our land
If you want to hold an event in one of our parks or on our land, you will need to complete an Event booking form, a risk assessment and sign our terms and conditions, all available from the related document section of this page. Depending on the nature of the event, a cost may be incurred. The fees are as follows:
Contact us about planning your event
If you have questions about planning an event you can contact us by:
- email: events@ashfield.gov.uk