Organising an Event in Stoke-on-Trent

Events play an important role to the City of Stoke-on-Trent – they bring people and communities closer together, encourage people to have more active lifestyles, encourage new visitors, generate local economic income and provide the city with great atmosphere.  

If you’re organising an event within Stoke-on-Trent, there are lots of things to consider and it’s important that you have the correct procedures in place to ensure that your event runs smoothly and safely. The gov.uk website offers great online guidance for organising events. Organising A Voluntary event – A Can Do Guide offers advise on various subjects including planning an event; licences and permissions; organiser, volunteer, and participant safety; food safety; road closures; insurance; and specialist guidance.

You will also need to consider whether you need to inform the Stoke-on-Trent Safety Advisory Group about your event. Safety Advisory Groups (SAG) were formed nationally as a result of some serious incidents at several events (such as Hillsborough 1989). In order to make sure your event is safe to operate within Stoke-on-Trent you should get in touch with our Safety Advisory Group which includes representatives from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, and Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service. You can find out more about the role of Safety Advisory Groups on the Health & Safety Executive website.

In general, all events with over 500 visitors will need to go through the Safety Advisory Group. When planning an event involving greater than 6,000 people a minimum of 6 months’ notice to the Safety Advisory Group should be provided. For an event involving between 500 – 6,000 people a minimum of 3 months’ notice should be provided.

Usually an event held outdoors, possibly with marquees or other temporary buildings will be invited to the Safety Advisory Group. Typical examples of events would include Fetes, fairs etc; open air concerts and music festivals; trade shows; sporting events; horse shows, agricultural shows, dog shows, car and caravan shows and similar; open air entertainment including theatre, opera and historic re-enactments; firework displays; large scale company parties; processions, marches and carnivals; street parties; and religious events

Safety Advisory Groups provide a forum for discussing and advising on public safety at an event. They aim to help organisers with the planning, and management of an event and to encourage cooperation and coordination between all relevant agencies. They are non-statutory bodies and so do not have legal powers or responsibilities, and are not empowered to approve or prohibit events from taking place. Event organisers and others involved in the running of an event, retain the principal legal duties for ensuring public safety. Stoke-on-Trent Safety Advisory Group is not responsible for giving permission to use council land or granting licenses for events. If any organisation or community group wishes to use any park, open, or public space that is owned/managed by the council they should request permission and obtain approval from the Parks Department. Where a licence is required an application must be submitted separately to the licensing authority. Health & Safety remains at all times the responsibility of the Event Organiser; Stoke-on-Trent City Council may provide advice but accept no responsibility or liability for risks and outcomes as a result of your event. If you need further information about the work of Stoke-on-Trent Safety Advisory Group please telephone 01782 234234 or email safetyadvisory.group@stoke.gov.uk

For information about organising an event in one Stoke-on-Trent’s parks or green spaces you can download a copy of the Stoke-on-Trent City Council Outdoor Event Guide. The guide provides Event Organisers with all the information required for staging an event in a Stoke-on-Trent park or green space.

Get in touch...

To contact the Safety Advisory Group about a forthcoming event email safetyadvisory.group@stoke.gov.uk

To enquire about holding an event in one of Stoke-on-Trent’s parks or green spaces email parkevents@stoke.gov.uk

To enquire about hiring one of Stoke-on-Trent’s other event spaces & places email eventenquiry@stoke.gov.uk