Welcome to Warwickshire County Council

Event Notification Form - pdf, 39kb

Event Notificaton Guidance Notes - pdf, 56Kb

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Return the completed form to:
County Highways,
Environment and Economy Directorate,
Old Budbrooke Road
Warwick
CV35 7DP

Events on the highway

Events on the highway must be registered with and are licensed by the highway authority.

Events off the highway

Events off the highway which need a licence by the District Council and will generate a significant increase in traffic must be registered with the highway authority.

Events off the highway which DO NOT need a licence by the District Council but will generate a significant increase in traffic should be registered with the highway authority.

Note:
Highway is a road or street, verge, footway or pavement, public footpath or bridleway that is the responsibility of Warwickshire County Council.


Why do I need to register my Event?

Every day there are a lot of activities on the road, from roadworks to maintain essential utilities (Gas, Water, Electric etc), to maintaining the road itself, and of course, carnivals, processions and street parties. In addition to all of this are broken down cars, road crashes and other incidents involving the Police and emergency services where the road is closed at short notice.

In order to help you have a successful event, and to enable your guests, visitors and participants to get to and from the event quickly and safely, we need to know about it. If we don’t know, we cannot prevent other organisers causing delay by digging up, or closing the road.

Whilst we offer no guarantees that delays will not be experienced, we will have a better chance of co-ordinating activities if you tell us about your event.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a Duty on Traffic Authorities to effectively manage their road network and ensure the free movement of traffic. Accordingly, Warwickshire County Council has formalised the process for management events to minimise the impact on the travelling public and local community.

Things to Consider

Who is the event is aimed at? Particular groups will have different risks and needs associated with them, i.e. young children, teenagers the elderly or disabled.

What type of activity is to be held? The type of activity greatly affects the hazards involved such as animals, water sports or a music concert

Where is the event to take place? Is the venue adequate for the type of event taking place, with correct facilities? Is it easy to get to without impacting greatly on the local community and does it have sufficient car parking? Is suitable public transport available?

When will the event take place and does it clash with any other event in the area? The day of the week and time of day needs to be considered as this will affect travel to the venue, the impact on the local community and the possible need for artificial lighting.

How many people are expected to attend and will there be an entrance fee?

The type of event will also affect the type of licences and Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) that may be required. Warwickshire County Council as the highway authority is responsible for introducing TROs and road closures. The local District and Borough Council’s, is responsible for public entertainment licences and any planning permissions that may be required.

Organisers will first need to identify who is responsible for the event. For local events this may be an individual and for major events there may be a need for a management structure for each element of the process. The primary ‘duty of care’ for public safety rests with the organiser(s) or the owners of the property or land.

Traffic Management

Organisers must consider the traffic management and road safety implications of an event at an early stage by preparing a traffic management plan (It is also recommended that a traffic management plan is prepared for events which do not require a licence). If it is considered that the traffic management implications have not been addressed or the event poses potentially serious disruption and road safety concerns then it may be decided that the event cannot proceed. Clearly it is very important for the police and County Council to be involved at the earliest opportunity.

Wherever possible event organisers are expected to encourage the use of public transport, cycling and walking to their event.

a. Traffic Management Plan

A traffic management plan will consider the safe and effective movement of all attendees and organisers and will demonstrate how any additional interference with normal traffic movements are minimised.

Traffic management plans are a full risk assessment which clearly identifies all risks to the travelling public, participants and employees attending the event. The nature, location and environment of the event may also need to be considered and then all risks recorded with recommendations on how the risk will be managed. A risk assessment is a careful examination of what is likely to cause harm to people, followed by an explanation of managed contingencies to reduce such risks. It is a way of identifying hazards and recording actions taken to reduce the risk. Employers and the self employed have a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to carry out risk assessments. Further information is supplied by the Health and Safety Executive.

b. Public Transport

Getting to and from the Event should be made as easy as possible. By making public transport as inviting as possible to use it can improve the whole experience.

By talking with the public transport operators at an early stage, it may be possible to increase the frequency of buses, or increase the capacity of trains.

Free buses may be an alternative, depending on the numbers of people you expect to attend.

Park & Ride or Park and Walk. These are options that should be considered and car parks should not be limited to the immediate event site.

c. Cars

It is recognised that the majority of people will wish to use their personal cars and sufficient capacity should be provided at the entrance to the site and within the site to avoid any unnecessary delays on the public highway.

d. Traffic Control

Traffic control on the public highway can only be done by a Police Constable in uniform. Stewards do not have the authority to control traffic on the public highway.

e. Road Closures

On occasions, it may be necessary to request that a road is closed to hold the Event or to ensure that visitors are safely guided to the event. Road closures are administered using a variety legislation depending on the type of event. The type of legislation determines which authority will deal with the application. For further advice, contact County Highways.


The traffic management plan should consider the following:

• Signing and publicity
• Access and exit routes and points – suitability and capacity not to disrupt the normal travelling public
• Maintenance of routes – contingency for breakdowns or crashes
• Traffic control – Police, accredited staff
• Road or lane closures
• On-site routes/car parking – capacity to accept sufficient volumes of vehicles/people to avoid delays on the public highway

Safety Advisory Group

It is recommended that a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) is formed for Events attracting in excess of 1,000 people, (especially if they are to occur on an annual basis). Safety Advisory Groups are usually chaired by the event organiser and should include representatives of:

• Area Manager (Warwickshire County Council)
• Traffic Manager (Warwickshire County Council)
• Other departments relevant to the event (Warwickshire County Council)
• Licensing authority (District, Borough Council)
• Building Control Officer (District, Borough Council)
• Environmental Health Officer (District, Borough Council)
• Police service
• Ambulance service
• Fire service
• Experts as necessary at the discretion of the group

Where relevant they may also include:

• Emergency planning officers, property owners, security and stewards, military, voluntary groups, press officers and other service providers.

A Safety Advisory Group’s main objectives are:

• To promote high levels of safety and welfare at events by giving advice;
• To promote good practice in safety and welfare planning for events; and
• To ensure events cause minimal adverse impact.

A Safety Advisory Group’s terms of reference may include:

• To ensure that each member of the group is aware of their individual role within the group.
• To ensure that the organiser has taken such measures as may be necessary or expedient to ensure the reasonable safety of the public.
• To offer advice on risk assessments and safety measures.
• To keep a written record of all formal meetings and note actions arising from those meetings.
• A major event will require a major incident contingency plan.
• To ensure that a safety officer and first aid/medical providers are appointed.
• Where applicable to hold a de-brief and make recommendations for future safety improvements

The group needs to regularly consider the event and to give advice to the organisers. All comments and observation made by the SAG are always advisory. It has no statutory compulsion and organisers are under no obligation to submit information, attend SAG meetings, or follow SAG’s advice. However, SAG’s are considered best practice and each of the constituent members has their own regulatory role and may exercise their powers independently. If it is decided by the group that the correct event planning is not in place, it can recommended that the event does not go ahead and then the application to Warwickshire County Council will be refused. SAG is not a licensing panel.

For any major or annual event that may benefit from the formation of a Safety Advisory Group, Warwickshire County Council will do all that it can to help facilitate meetings with all the parties required.

The Police

Events, especially those of a commercial nature, should be capable of being carried through without the need for police attendance. However, depending on the nature and size of the event, police may be involved in the scrutiny of the planning and as part of the Safety Advisory Group process the decision may be made that police presence is required.

The assessment of the necessity for police attendance and action at an event will be based on the need to discharge the police service’s core responsibilities which are as follows: -

• Protection of life and property
• Prevention and detection of crime
• Preventing or stopping breaches of the peace
• Traffic regulation (within the legal powers provided by statute)
• Activation of a contingency plan where there is an immediate threat to life and co-ordination of resulting emergency service activities

The level of police resources committed to any event and the action undertaken will be proportionate to the assessment of risks posed by the event. Normally police involvement will be restricted to these core areas of responsibility. Early discussion with the police by event organisers is strongly advised.

Private marshalling and stewarding has become a recognised way in which events are supported. This, however, does not preclude any local arrangements between police and the event organisers.

Please note that stewards and marshals have no power to direct traffic on the public highway.