Organising A Street Party

King Charles III Coronation 6th, 7th and 8th May

Street parties are simple to organise. This guidance below sets out what you need to think about when planning your event.

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM OTHER INTERNET PAGES, GOV.UK AND OTHER INTERNET SOURCES. THE INFORMATION IS FOR SIMPLE GUIDANCE ONLY AND WE DO ALWAYS RECOMMEND YOU LOOK INTO FURTHER RESEARCH FOR YOUR EVENT.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email your questions to info@firstclassleisure.co.uk Enquiry Form

How to organise a street party

Organising a street party just for residents and neighbours is very simple and normally does may not need a licence. Your local council may require you to complete a simple application form to hold a street party, we advise you check and contact your local council to check.

You can find your council by entering your postcode at find your local council

The number one tip for holding a party is to plan early and to share jobs out amongst residents. If you need a temporary road closure, get in touch with your council at least 6 weeks in advance. Your first point of contact could be either the council’s highways, licensing, events or communities team. If you encounter any difficulties speak to your local councillor who will be happy to help.

TO BOOK EQUIPMENT FOR A STREET PARTY WITH FIRST CLASS LEISURE WE WILL REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING - PLEASE READ

1. If you are organising a street party you will need to ask permission from the local council, this will need to be done by email or letter and sent to us.

2. We will need to see an image of the set-up area, this can be sent by email, text or messenger.

3. We will require details of the power access available and the distance to the power points and any obstacles in the way. We will also need to see what actions you will be taking to prevent anyone going over the cables.

IMPORTANT Questions we get asked:

IMPORTANT: Can we put a bouncy castle on a drive way, street, road?
NO, Sorry ALL Bouncy castles/Inflatables will be required to be set-up on flat grass only. The health and safety law is very strict with inflatables. ALL Bouncy castles have to be staked down and secured correctly in accordance to HSE safety regulations. Minimum of 6 metal stakes for one bouncy castle.

We say No, to hard standing set-up, but then you find a company who says yes?
Unless the company brings 6 bags of sand per anchor point (that's 48 bags of sand per bouncy castle) or drills hooks into to the hard standing surface or drive way or tarmac, they will not be allowed, the same regulations and rules apply to every inflatable company. We would rather say no and follow the regulations and make sure all our customers are safe.

You have found a company who says it's ok to set-up on a drive way with one sand bag per anchor point, 4 or 6 bags of sand per bouncy castle!! dangerous!!
NO, avoid and stay away, these are the cowboys of the industry, they are breaking HSE regulations and putting money before safety. Avoid and report to HSE.

No Bouncy Castles/Inflatables will be set-up on hard standing surfaces, this includes hard standing surfaces, streets, roads, drive ways, patio's.

WIND SPEEDS - IMPORTANT - No inflatable is allowed to be set-up or used if wind speed gusts are to exceed or predicted to exceed 24mph, again HSE regulations. At First Class Leisure we check wind speeds prior to delivery and also on delivery. If the wind speeds gusts are to be over or predicted to be over then we will have no choice but to cancel, If this is the case, please do not head to social media and say our company has let you down, we have not let anyone down, we are following the HSE safety regulations and putting saftey first. Safety fencing will be required around all inflatables/bouncy castles, you can either use your own safety fencing and have this ready prior to our arrival or we can provide this service, at extra cost and must be booked in advance. Having safety fencing around the equipment, helps to control user numbers and provides better safety.

Adult supervision will be required at all times, children should never be left un-attended at any times.

You can book equipment on our website, but we will need all requests above within 7 days of making the booking to secure the equipment and date and you will need to ensure street party is choose on the booking form option.

We recommend you take out your own insurance for your event and also have disclaimer forms for your street to agree to sign, to say that all users use the equipment at their own risk, this way you are all agreeing to the hire the equipment and responsibilities of using the equipment for your event.

You will need to complete a street party form for your event hire from our company, this will be a tick box form and will be required prior to the event date.

Full payment will be required prior the the event date (terms apply), no refunds will be given, this includes bad weather on the day. You must have a bad up contingency plan for your event, indoor hall etc.

Cancellations will not be allowed for these dates, only book if you are sure your event will be taking place or you have back up plans for bad weather.

What sort of events does this guidance apply to?

Our information is for guidance only, to help you plan safe and street parties, for groups of residents to get together to arrange with their neighbours.

The main differences between a small private street party and other public events are listed below.

Other public events
Anyone can attend
External publicity (such as online or posters.
In buildings, parks etc.
Professional/skilled organisers.
Insurance needed.
Risk assessment common.

More helpful tips, advice and support for organising a successful event can be found on The Big Lunch website where you can request a free Big Lunch pack for organisers, and also on the Street Party website.

Street parties – the myths and the facts

Myth 1: It’s too difficult and confusing

Street Party and The Big Lunch have great websites to help you plan. You can also use GOV.UK to access local information and contact details for more advice (enter your postcode at: Apply to hold a street party).

You should not need a risk assessment – as long as consideration is given to the safety needs of all those attending, common sense precautions should be enough.

A street party doesn’t need to be complicated; everyone can bring something, and you can ask a few neighbours to share the organising so it isn’t too much for one person and helps to build a sense of ownership by all.

Myth 2: You need a licence

The Licensing Act 2003 does not require a music licence at a street party unless amplified music is one of the main purposes of the event.

However, if you plan to sell alcohol you will need to check whether you need a Temporary Events Notice. This is a temporary permission for licensable activities which currently costs £21 and covers events of fewer than 500 people, including anyone helping to run the event.

For more information or to make an application, please contact your local licensing authority by entering your postcode at Temporary Events Notice.

Myth 3: The law requires complex forms for a road closure and councils need to sign off every detail

For most small parties in quiet streets and where you need to close a road, all your council needs to know is where and when the road closure will take place (if you need one) so they can plan around it (for example, so emergency services know). They will need around 6 weeks’ advance notice as they will need to put in place a temporary traffic regulation order.

If councils really need more information, they will contact organisers, but they are expected to take a ‘light touch’ approach. If your council asks for excessive information, you should challenge them.

Alternatively, you can keep the road open and organise a gathering or ‘Street Meet’ on private land, such as a driveway or front garden, without any requirement to fill in council forms. Residents should speak to their council about plans. The Street Party site has some excellent guidance on how to hold a Street Meet.

Myth 4: The law requires a fee to be charged for a road closure

The law allows councils to charge for the cost of arranging a traffic regulation order for a road closure and some of them may charge a small fee, although they are not required to do this and are encouraged not to. If your council is making a charge, you have every right to question what those charges are for and to check they are reasonable.

Myth 5: It’s too late to ask for a road closure

Some councils set deadlines to help them manage their work, which is why it’s best to ask six weeks in advance. But there are no deadlines in law, so if they seem unreasonable ask your council to be flexible. If you can’t or don’t want to close your road, you could plan a simpler Street Meet at short notice (see Myth 3 above).

Myth 6: You need to buy expensive road signs

Some local councils will lend you signs and cones, or you can hire or buy signs. Both Street Party and The Big Lunch websites have advice on road closures.

Myth 7: You need expensive insurance

There is no requirement from central government to have public liability insurance. Many councils may recommend it but do not insist on it so you should challenge those who do.

If you think insurance would be a good idea, have a look at the advice on the Street Party site and The Big Lunch website and shop around. The Big Lunch have negotiated special rates for street party insurance starting at just £28, which can be split between people attending, or you could ask for donations to cover the costs.

Myth 8: You need a food licence

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed that one-off events such as street parties aren’t usually considered food businesses, so there are no forms to fill in. However, you must ensure that any food provided is safe to eat.

The FSA website provides more advice about providing safe food at street parties and other community events. The NHS website has practical tips on how to prepare and cook food safely.

Myth 9: You need a licence to run a raffle or lottery

You do not have to register a lottery (which includes raffles, sweepstakes and tombolas) if you are running an ‘incidental lottery’, but tickets must be sold at the event and prizes cannot be rolled over from one event to another.

Anyone at the event (including children) can take part in this sort of lottery. No more than £100 can be deducted from the proceeds of the lottery to cover the expenses incurred in organising the lottery (e.g. ticket printing), and no more than £500 can be spent on prizes (not including donated prizes).

We hope these details give you some good guidance to organising an event. Here at First Class Leisure we take safety as top priority. We will always advise the best advise to ensure the event is run and operated correctly. The hirer and residents will be responsible for the all equipment, from our agreed delivery time, for the whole of their event, to ensure all equipment is supervised and operated correctly for the whole period of hire and until our agreed collection.

Please check out the most recent government guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of coronavirus to ensure your street party is covid-secure. See more general guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19)