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Events advice and guidance

Covid-19 Advice for Event Organisers

Guidance for people who work in settings related to events and visitor attractions - what you need to know

Hosting an event in St Albans

With over 150 parks and open spaces administered by the City, Parish and Town Councils in the District, we are happy to support you to host a wide range of commercial and community events throughout the year.

If your event is on council-owned land, submission to the Safety Advisory Group is compulsory. Please find more information on this process below.

The event protocol is in the process of being revised. In the interim, please contact the events team by emailing events@stalbans.gov.uk for further information and an overview of the event-booking process.

What is an 'event'? Toggle accordion

For the purposes of the information given on this web page, an event is  an organised gathering on recreational land within the boundary of the City and District of St Albans, organised by public agencies, businesses, schools and special interest or community groups, that has 50 or more attendees, or does not come under the category of ‘Normal Enjoyment’.

Normal Enjoyment of Council Land meets the following criteria: 

  • does not require electricity, gazebos or sound systems 
  • guests will usually be known to one another 
  • no publicity will be distributed about the gathering 
  • food will be provided by guests for their own enjoyment and will not include external caterers or items being sold to the public in any form 
  • Council Land will not be fenced off, outlined or demarcated in any way either before or during its use

Land Permission Toggle accordion

You need to ensure that you have permission to hold your event at your preferred location. This may mean you need to make more than one application to secure approval, as it may be subject to more than one piece of legislation.

Please see the Parks and Green Spaces Audit for information on available green spaces in the district.

If the land is owned by SADC we will confirm if the site is available for your event and advise you of the next steps to secure a land hire agreement for your event. If the land is not owned by us, you should always obtain consent from the land owner and we will endeavor to put you in contact with them.

Event Licenses Toggle accordion

If your event has licensable activities you will need to apply for a license to permit these through the licensing authority. Please note this is separate from your land hire agreement. Please see full information on the licenses and application details here.

Licensable activities are defined as;

  • the retail sale of alcohol,
  • the supply of alcohol in clubs,
  • the provision of late night refreshment, and.
  • the provision of regulated entertainment.

For any enquiries please email the Licensing Authority direct at licensing@stalbans.gov.uk or on 01727 819264.

Road Banners Toggle accordion

St Albans Council has a selection of approved banner sites across the district. These are issued on a first come first served basis and are for event advertising only. Banners are not permitted to be placed on any council land without permission. 

To book a banner space please email: Banners@stalbans.gov.uk

Filming Toggle accordion

Film on council owned land requires a filming license. Please see more information here.

Event Waste Toggle accordion

If you are organising an event you will also need to consider your responsibility to manage the waste that will be generated at your event, particularly if you are having stalls with food and/or drink. It is the responsibility of the event to ensure the land is left in a clean condition.

Events often produce valuable recyclable materials in addition to general refuse; this includes glass bottles, drink cans, plastics, paper and cardboard. Our residents are used to recycling at home so expect to see this at events. By offering recycling at your event, your business is also presenting a positive environmental message to visitors and enhancing the image of your event.

We recommend that large events hire an external company to help manage their waste and recycling. You can request a quote from the Councils Contractor Veolia via uk.veolia.waste.sadc.mailbox@veolia.com or use any other commercial waste company of your choice.

The event organiser has a legal “Duty of Care” to ensure all waste - including recycling - is taken off site and is processed according to the law. Any waste contractor employed to collect and process the waste must have the correct licenses. The event organiser would be held legally responsible for any material that is processed or transported without the proper licenses and documentation in place.
 

Road Closures Toggle accordion

If your event is taking place on a public road or highway, you may need to consider a temporary road closure for the safety of the event attendees and staff.

You can apply to make a temporary change to your road (Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders TTRO) through Herts County Council here  This needs to be done at least eight weeks before your event.

If your event is to allow children to play out on a street, then you can apply for a Play Street Order via https://sustainablestalbans.org/playing-out/. This process will usually take six weeks. You are also required to inform the Herts County Council Highways about your road closure so please allow plenty of time to do so.

Please note that both of the above applications also require you to inform the local Police as they may be needed to provide personnel to support the road closure. It cannot be guaranteed that staff will be available for this, therefore please discuss your requirements with the relevant bodies as soon as possible.

 

Event fees and charges Toggle accordion

Event Management Hirer Fees apply to any events taking place on District Council owned outdoor land. (Please see 'What is an 'Event'?' for the definition of an event for the purposes of the charges in this document).

Types and sizes of event

The fees payable will depend on the type and size of event, as defined below. We may ask you to explain why you feel your event falls into one of the categories below prior to approving your event fees.

Commercial – an event that is intended to generate a profit such as festivals, commercial music, theatre or comedy events, trade fairs, corporate events, marketing activities for profit making organisations, and funfairs and circuses.

Charity – an event that is organised with the sole purpose of raising money for charity. All proceeds (over and above costs) will be for charity.

Community – an event that is organised by a charity, voluntary or community group in support of the community, for the benefit of the District or local residents. A community event is free for the public to attend and there will be no significant commercial benefit opportunities for profit-making businesses.

Funfair – an event that brings in four or more fairground rides. 

Education – an event organised by an education establishment for their students or wider community.

Promotional/marketing events - Promotions, product launches, road shows or media events, generally open to the public. 

Private hire and corporate events – These may include weddings, private parties, away-days, conferences, gala dinners, award ceremonies, and other similar events. These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

Market - Anything that has five or more traders; is open to the public (free of charge); and is within 6⅔ miles of St Albans Market, Harpenden Market or Redbourn Market counts as a market and would require a licence from the St Albans Markets team because SADC is the Market authority in this area

Fees are per event, per day and any variance from the fees listed will be at the Council’s discretion.

“Operational day”– any day that the event is running as an event and is open to attendees.

“Non-operational day” – ingress and egress days (i.e., any day that is required to set up or break down the event.)

Premium Space – Verulamium Park is charged at the Premium Space rate. All other parks and green spaces are currently charged at the non-premium rate. This is subject to review and may be amended at Officer discretion.

Community groups and voluntary organisations who invest their time or reinvest money back into supporting the upkeep of the parks and green spaces (e.g. ‘Friends of’ groups), may qualify for a full or partial discount on the event charges. Organisations should contact events@stalbans.gov.uk if they think this may be applicable to them.

Charges for small events (0 ­- 499 attendees)

Water - £15 per operational day

Power - £20 per operational day (where applicable)

 

Commercial providers

Charities, community groups and schools

Premium space – cost per operational day

£500

£125

Premium space – cost per non-operational day

£167

£42

Non-premium space – cost per operational day

£250

£75

Non-premium space – cost per non-operational day

£60

£25

 

Charges for medium events (500 - 2,499 attendees)

Water - £25 per operational day

Power - £40 per operational day (where applicable)

 

Commercial providers

Charities, community groups and schools

Premium space – cost per operational day

£750

£300

Premium space – cost per non-operational day

£250

£100

Non-premium space – cost per operational day

£490

£150

Non-premium space – cost per non-operational day

£160

£50

 

Charges for large events (2,500 - 4,999 attendees)

Water - £35 per operational day

Power - £60 per operational day (where applicable)

 

Commercial providers

Charities, community groups and schools

Premium space – cost per operational day

£1,250

£500

Premium space – cost per non-operational day

£417

£167

Non-premium space – cost per operational day

£915

£250

Non-premium space – cost per non-operational day

£300

£83

 

Charges for extra-large events (5,000 – 19,999 attendees)

Water - £45 per operational day

Power - £80 per operational day (where applicable)

 

Commercial providers

Charities, community groups and schools

Premium space – cost per operational day

£1,800

£848

Premium space – cost per non-operational day

£600

£283

Non-premium space – cost per operational day

n/a

n/a

Non-premium space – cost per non-operational day

n/a

n/a

 

Charges for major events (20,000+ attendees)

Water - £55 per operational day

Power - £100 per operational day (where applicable)

 

Commercial providers

Charities, community groups and schools

Premium space – cost per operational day

Price per application

Price per application

Premium space – cost per non-operational day

 

 

Non-premium space – cost per operational day

n/a

n/a

Non-premium space – cost per non-operational day

 

 

 

Other fees and charges:

Site visit/meeting, per hour (minimum 2 hours) - £40

Charge for use of bandstand in Clarence Park for rehearsals and free performances (paid performances are classified as an event and charged per the above tables of costs) - £50 for commercial organisations, £25 for charities, community groups and schools

Charge for administration of requests, activities or events that do not fall under any of the above charges - £40

Late application fee – for Event Notifications Forms received after the deadline specified in the event policy - £40

Additional fees may be levied dependant on the event and the amount of officer time involved.

Safety Advisory Group

For first time and larger scale events it is advised that organisers attend a St Albans Safety Advisory Group meeting to help ensure all the correct measures are in place and to support your application. We therefore ask for a minimum of two months' notice to ensure there is time for your application to be processed.  

Please note SAG is a different process to Land Hire Agreements and Event Licenses.

What is SAG? Toggle accordion

The St Albans District Events Safety Advisory Group (SAG) enables key agencies to work together to look at safety issues for any public events taking place in the District. The idea is not to discourage events in any way but to provide event organisers with support and guidance to ensure that any events are carried out safely and successfully.

Should any member of the SAG have any questions about an event, the organiser may be asked to come along to meet the group so that any issues can be discussed and the organiser can ask for advice from the members.

Who is on the SAG? Toggle accordion

The Safety Advisory Group consists of a number of agencies who work to maintain and enhance public safety.

  • Police (Herts Constabulary)
  • Fire & Rescue Service
  • Ambulance Service
  • Hertfordshire County Council (Highways)
  • St Albans District Council 
  • St Albans Licensing Authority 
  • Harpenden Town Council Events Officer
  • SADC officer

The St Albans and District Event Safety Advisory Group is administered by the Community and Place Delivery Directorate, District Council Offices, Civic Centre, St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3JE. Contact SAG directly on 01727 819311 or via e-mail events@stalbans.gov.uk. Alternatively, call the Council's customer contact centre on 01727 866100.

Does my event need to be submitted to SAG? Toggle accordion

All events within St Albans District are welcome to submit an event to St Albans SAG to be checked for safety issues free of charge. 

It is compulsory for events on St Albans Council owned land to submit to SAG.

What do I need to submit to SAG and how do I do it? Toggle accordion

We ask all event organisers to submit the following:

  • A completed event notification form
  • An event risk assessment including Covid considerations
  • An event management plan
  • A site plan
  • A copy of public liability insurance that will cover the event

Please email these documents to events@stalbans.gov.uk

Guidance documents are available below.

What happens once my application is submitted to SAG? Toggle accordion

Once the event notification information is submitted, we will:

  • Circulate to SAG members for assessment and possible action.
  • Members of SAG will provide advice and guidance on their specific areas of responsibility back to St Albans Council. 
  • If any actions or advice is received the events team will contact the event organiser to discuss.
  • If necessary, the event organiser will be invited to the next SAG meeting to discuss the event in more detail. 
  • If no responses are received, the event organiser will not be contacted and can assume all aspect of their event are considered safe.

If you are planning an event we advise that you submit your documentation as early as possible to ensure each SAG member has time to respond.

Further Event Guidance Toggle accordion