Safety and guidance for event organisers
Many events that take place in Runnymede Borough are not organised by professional event planners but by members of the community kind enough to give up their spare time to organise events.
Event organisers need to compile certain necessary documentation to demonstrate that their event has been planned safely. Past experience of running an event for many years does not automatically mean the event has been delivered safely.
We appreciate that volunteer organisers may not have experience with compiling all the necessary documentation, so we have produced a suite of guidance that might assist event organisers with their planning. If event organisers are not sure how to record their plans, we have also produced some template - you are not obliged to use these templates and you are of course free to record the information in a different format if you prefer.
The following documents are available
Event planning
Event management plan
Risk assessment
Fire risk assessment
Fire Risk Assessment Guidance 2025- Fire Risk Assessment template food concessions
Fire Risk Assessment Sample template
Other
- Sample accident report form
- Example of a lost and found child/vulnerable person policy
- Environmental Health guidance on event safety
- Environmental Health guidance on food hygiene
Safety Advisory Group
Some events may need to be discussed at a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) and you may be required to attend one or more SAG meetings so that the event can be discussed in advance to help event organisers consider all aspects of safety planning.
To ensure that the SAG have time to review the arrangements for your event, please ensure the required documents are received by the Council as early as possible. Check timescale in the document below for submitting event documentation.
Guidance from Surrey County Council Highways
Surrey County Council provide guidance on its website for event organisers and public events on the road together with some useful timelines. On this page, there are links to other pages including one which gives a Framework for Coordination of events on the highway. It must be stressed this information is generally in respect of sporting events on the highway but will give event organisers a better understanding of the formal processes to be followed in readiness for delivering an event.
Many events on the Highway (roadway) require a road closure to be put in place. Surrey County Council Highways have provided guidance on road closures and the use of Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) marshals.
If the event will cause any public footpaths or rights of way to be blocked/closed, you must apply to Surrey County Council for a Special Event Closure Order, as obstructing a public footpath is an offence.
Contact rightsofway@surreycc.gov.uk to apply for a Special Event Closure Order. There will be a charge for this service.
Security and Terrorism
As part of organising your event it's important to consider security and the possibility of terrorism. The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as “Martyn’s Law”, is currently undergoing Parliamentary scrutiny and will deliver the Government’s manifesto commitment to ‘bring in Martyn’s Law to strengthen the security of public events and venues’.
Whilst “Martyn’s Law” has not yet been passed as legislation, the new law will create legal requirements for event organisers to reduce the risk to the public from terrorism. Please see “Martyn’s Law overview and what you need to know” on ProtectUK website
To help event organisers, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued Mitigation of Terrorist Threats at Venues During Ingress and Egress Guidance (Opens in new tab) on increasing the protection of crowded places from a terrorist attack.
Protect UK has launched a "toolkit" of resources that provide important safety messages encouraging the public to trust their instincts and report anything that doesn’t feel right. It includes free content to use on websites social media, big screens and more.
Event organisers are strongly encouraged to undertake the 45 minute free ACT ( Action Counters Terrorism ) online awareness training to learn about the best practices to help counter terrorism and increase your security awareness.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have prepared guidance for event organisers
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum has produced counter terror guidance for event organisers that may be of interest to you.
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