St.Helens Council
Event Planning 2014
Venue / Date
Welcome / Introduction
Insert Name
St.Helens Council
Strategic Events Team
Safe and Successful Events
• St.Helens Council aims to help you plan and deliver
safe and successful events
• Events within St.Helens help to promote and
encourage use of parks and community spaces
• Events can help build stronger communities,
showcase your local area and add to the economic
prosperity of the borough
Safe and Successful Events
• St.Helens Council has produced guidance to help
you plan and operate your event
• However, it must be remembered that events can be
extremely diverse, and therefore this guidance
cannot be considered exhaustive. It is likely that
additional guidance will be required for specialist
events and larger scale activities
• In addition to this guidance document, St.Helens
Council operates an Events Planning Group
An Introduction to Event
Management
• Event Management encompasses many
different disciplines
• Event management includes the
responsibility to maintain health and
safety
• Event management is directly related to
the success of the event
Planning Your Event
Why?
•
What is the purpose of your event?
Where - Is your venue Suitable?
•
Space / Capacity / Layout of Area
•
Access / Egress
•
Parking
•
Emergency Routes
When?
•
The time of year – weather / lighting
•
Day and time – event participants, visitors, visitors
•
Other events
Who?
•
Organisers
•
Participants
•
Staff
•
Visitors
What?
•
Type of activities - will there be any specific hazards
Planning Your Event
Code of practice / Guidance
• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• The Event Safety Guide (purple guide) – HSE
• Security Industry Act 2001
Specialist equipment
• Barriers
• Generators / lighting / emergency lighting
• PA System
• Funfair Rides
Welfare arrangements - Visitors / Participants / Staff
• First Aid
• Toilets
• Drinking Water
• Lost Children / Missing Persons
• Baby Changing
• Lost Property
• Catering – Hygiene Certificates and Facilities / Pricing
Planning Your Event
Licenses
• Alcohol
• Food
• Entertainment
• PRS License
Traffic Plan / Transport
• Closures / Traffic Management
• On-Site Traffic
• Offsite Traffic
• Parking
• Public Transport
Waste Disposal
• How will you tidy up after the event
• How will your dispose / recycle any waste
Planning Your Event
Signage
• Emergency exits
• First aid
• Information and lost children
• Toilets and drinking water
• Directional
Equality and Diversity Assessment - Is your event accessible to all?
• Families with babies and small children
• People who do not speak English
• Disabled people (physical disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing, visual
impairment, learning difficulties)
• People with limited mobility
• Elderly People
Planning Your Event
Crowd Management and Security
• Volunteer / Professional - Suitability
• Stewarding – Directions / Event Information
• Security
• Searching
• Cash Transport / Handling
• Numbers of Staff
Temporary Structures (including Marquees / Gazebos / Stages / Podiums)
Safety Documentation includes:
• Risk Assessment
• Method Statement
• Current Public Liability Insurance
• Company Health and Safety Policy
• Certificate of Work Completion
Planning Your Event
Contingency plans
Consider the implications on the event of extreme weather conditions. Will the
event be cancelled? Could specialist matting be hired in at short notice? Or
could the event be moved to an alternative inside venue. This will involve a lot of
planning and may be too complex for anything other than the smallest of events.
There could also be other scenarios, which should be planned for, such as
dealing with a disappointed crowd if the main attraction has not turned up.
Emergency plan
A formal plan should be established to deal with any emergency situation which
may arise during the event. The complexity of this will depend upon the size and
nature of the event itself. A simple, easy to follow plan will be acceptable for a
small event.
You may have to liaise with the emergency services, local hospitals and the
council’s emergency planning officer and create a planning team to consider all
potential major incidents and how you would deal with them. Organisers of
larger events may wish to contact the council for further information.
Risk Assessment
Organisers of events have a legal responsibility to ensure the Health, Safety and
Welfare of any employees, volunteer helpers or contractors involved in arranging the
event and to the public and participants attending. Carrying out a detailed risk
assessment should ensure this.
(1) Hazard
(2) People Affected
Slips, trips & falls
•Members of the Public
•Staff
•Participants Members of the Public
(3) Controls in Place or Further Work Required to Control Risk
•Visual pre event check of event area to identify trip hazards.
•All cables covered with matting and where possible kept away from the performing area.
Documentation
You must produce documentation to record the plans for your event:
Event Plan
• Event Planning Application
• Park and Open Spaces - Application Form
Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance
• Employers Liability Insurance
• Levels of Insurance
Site plans
• Attractions and facilities
• Entrance and Exit points
• Circulation routes
• Emergency evacuation routes
• Vehicle / Emergency Vehicle access
Events Planning Group
St.Helens Council operates an Events Planning Group, which is made up of
Local Emergency Services and key Council departments. The group meets
monthly to offer advice and guidance to any organisation planning to hold an
event in St.Helens. The group is an advisory service and does not plan events.
To enable detailed consideration of your proposal, you should give the following
periods of notice to the Events Planning Group:
2-3 months’ notice
Small / Medium events (e.g. fun runs, road races, galas, fun days, circus,
funfairs, parades and any event involving road closures).
Minimum of 3-4 months’ notice
Large events (e.g. open-air concert, music festivals, firework display, any event
requiring a licence).
Once you have decided on the fundamental objectives behind the activities, you
can then start to organise the event in detail and complete your event planning
application. Remember to write things down as you go and to keep the event
plan up to date.
Events Planning Group
Submit your event planning
application or Parks and
Open Spaces planning
application at least two
months prior to your event.
Accepted
If your event is taking place
in one of the Councils Parks
or Opens Spaces, we
suggest you contact the
events team to check the
availability of the park prior to
submitting your application.
Declined
Advice provided prior to
re-submission.
Application sent to
Events Planning
Group for comments.
Any comments will
be sent back to the
organiser within 14
working days.
No
amendments
required.
Amendments
required.
Advice provided
prior to resubmission within 2
weeks.
Written approval
from St.Helens
Council for the
event to
proceed.
Any Questions?
Useful Links
http://www.whatsoninsthelens.com/planning-an-event
http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety
If you require advice on planning an event within the borough
please contact the St.Helens Council Strategic Events Team.