Organise an event on Council land

Preston is an event-friendly city and we welcome applications to host events on outdoor Council owned venues.

The Council's main outdoor event venues are showcased on our sister site 'Visit Preston':

• Flag Market
• Avenham and Miller Parks
• Moor Park
• Ashton Park
• Haslam Park
• Ribbleton Park
• Preston Dock
• Winckley Square

Event application process

For all events taking place on Council land, you must provide the following information as a minimum:

• Minimum £5 million indemnity Public Liability Insurance cover for the event
• A full risk assessment for the event
• A site layout plan
• Key contacts list, including on event contact details

Organisers of larger scale event(s) that hold specific or significant risks may be requested to produce further documentation.

Event Safety Management Plan

If you are planning a large scale or high risk event such as a carnival, pop concert or firework display, you need to provide an event manual outlining how you intend to deliver your event safely. We can provide a template event manual if you need one.

The plan should be accompanied by the information required to host an event on council land (as described above), which will then be circulated to the Event Safety Advisory Group. This group is made up of representatives of the City Council, County Council and Emergency Services and will review the plans and identify any suggestions or requests for further information.

Once an event application has been approved, the organiser will receive an agreement letter from the council outlining the terms and conditions for the use of the venue.

Food Traders

For all events with food traders, the council requires the below information a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of the event.

• Name of trader and business name
• Brief description of product being sold
• Has the concession traded in Preston within the last 12 months

Following this initial information, food traders will need to meet and provide evidence of the below requirements in order to trade at events:

• Minimum 3 star food hygiene rating
• Minimum level 2 food hygiene certificate
• Minimum indemnity £5million Public Liability Insurance
• Minimum indemnity £10million Employers Liability Insurance (if applicable)
• Risk Assessments
• Gas Test Certificates
• Electrical Test Certificates

Failure to comply with these terms may result in your application being declined and/or food traders not being permitted as part of your event.

Avenham and Miller Park

For events taking place on Avenham and Miller Park there are certain factors to consider around food concessions at events.

The Park features a public café with a wide range of hot and cold food and beverage, see Avenham Pavilion for further information about their services or get in touch and discuss your catering needs.

All requests to host events with catering on Avenham and Miller Parks will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Catering will be considered on events with:

• large attendance numbers in the region of 1000+
• Ice cream is provided by the Pavilion and will only be considered on events with large attendance figures.
• Events targeted towards an audience not compatible with the pavilion e.g. dog events
• Events with large numbers expected in a short period of time e.g. a run with registration

Guidance and health and safety documents

Download the Event planning guide [7.87MB] for a full guide to the different areas you need to consider when planning an outdoor event. This is intended for first time and non-professional event organisers.

There are also a series of detailed reference guides you can download from the below table, covering the potential elements of your event and a checklist of the paperwork you need to collect.

Cleansing

Event organisers are expected to leave the event site as it was found this relates to be damage and litter.

Events have the potential to cause significant amounts of litter and event organisers are expected to have the necessary plans in place to mitigate this and allow the site to be cleaned both during and after the event.

Organisers should therefore consider if additional bins will be required at their event or if they have sufficient staff/volunteer numbers to allow for the site to be litter picked during or after the event has finished.

If the organiser cannot demonstrate that sufficient safe guards are in place to deal with the potential litter created the council reserves the right to remove permission for the event or organise sufficient cleansing at the cost of the organiser.

Should an event organiser leave an event site without completing an agreed and adequate litter pick the council reserves the right to charge the organiser for the costs incurred to the council in carrying out that service.

Apply to host an event on council land

If you are planning to host an event on council land you need to apply to our events team. You can do this by completing an online form or by calling 01772 903663.

Apply to host an event on council land

Please note: if you are looking to host a clean up (litter picking) event please see Organise a clean up event.

What happens next?

Upon receipt of a completed event proposal form the Events team will firstly confirm if the proposed date and venue are available.

An assessment will then be carried out on the proposed event taking into consideration its size, scale and the level of risk involved in the proposed activities. This assessment will determine the risk rating attached to the event and the documentation that the organiser will be required to produce.

Please note that hire rates do apply in certain circumstances.

Application timescales

To enable us to give you proper advice and allow us effective time to consider your proposal you will need to give the following periods of notice:

• Small to medium scale events (attendance under 1000 people) - 1 months notice
• Large scale events (attendance over 1000 people) - 3 months notice

Promote your event

If your event is approved, why not promote it on Visit Preston - upload your event.