Street parties (guidance for organisers)
Advice and guidance on organising a street party and licensing requirements.
What sort of events does this apply to?
This is about the sort of street parties and fetes that groups of residents get together to arrange for their neighbours. The main differences between a small street party and fetes and larger public events are listed below:
Street parties and fetes
|
Larger public events
|
| For residents/neighbours only |
Anyone can attend |
| Publicity only to residents |
External publicity (such as in newspapers) |
|
No licences normally necessary if music
incidental and no selling is involved
|
Licence usually needed
Insurance needed
|
| No formal risk assessment needed |
Risk assessment common |
| Self-organised |
Professional/skilled organisers |
Organising small, private street parties and fetes is very simple and generally does not include activities that need a licence, such as selling alcohol or providing certain types of entertainment.
Road closure
If your event requires the road to be closed, you may also need to apply for a road closure order.
• Temporary road closure - Application form and guidance notes (Word 249K)
Event notice
If you want to have a pay bar or intend to provide entertainment to the wider public, or charge to raise money for your event, you will need to notify us no later than ten working days before the event using a Temporary Event Notice.
Larger public events attracting more people will require a different process. For advice on submitting a Temporary Event Notice, or on holding a larger public event, please contact our licensing team for advice - contact details are at the bottom of this page.
• Temporary Event Notice - Fact sheet
• Temporary Event Notice - Online application
Insurance
Whilst insurance is recommended, the council does not make it a requirement for small road closures for street parties.
Further information
More helpful tips, advice and support for organising a successful event can be found at:
• Streets Alive website www.streetparty.org.uk
• The Big Lunch website www.thebiglunch.com