Holding events in our parks

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 Planning Guidance
 Event Planning Checklist

Event management plan  

 Event Management Guidance
Event Management Sample template

Risk assessment  

 Risk Assessment Guidance
 Risk Assessment Sample template

Fire risk assessment  

 Fire Risk Assessment Guidance
 Fire Risk Assessment Guidance 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.

 Applying for events - timescale

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.

 Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) marshals - guidance

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. To help event organisers, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued Mitigation of Terrorist Threats at Venues During Ingress and Egress Guidance on increasing the protection of crowded places from a terrorist attack. 

Protect UK has launched a toolkit to support the summer event season. The kit provides 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. 

Counter Terrorism Policing South East have prepared guidance for event organisers

 Security advice for event organisers

Whilst the proposed Protect Duty has not yet been passed as legislation, it is likely that new laws will create legal requirements for event organisers to reduce the risk to the public from terrorism. 

Event organisers are strongly encouraged to undertake the free ACT ( Action Counters Terrorism) online training.