Hosting an event on Southend-on-Sea City Council land policy

Approval process

Before an event takes place, all events held on Council land within Southend must:

  • be authorised by us and have a permit issued
  • have in place, valid Public Liability Insurance of at least £5 million cover

We will consider applications that are received within the timescales. The timescales are shown on the event application form.

We are not able to consider any applications which we receive outside the times shown.

The application form must be complete. You will also need to provide any supporting information requested.

An Event Management Plan (EMP) is required for all large or complex events. An EMP is not limited to but should:

  • hold enough information to clearly understand exactly how to run the event safely
  • set out where and when the event is to be held
  • who it is for and how many are expected to attend
  • explain what will happen at the event and who is participating
  • include a detailed site plan
  • detail what is required to hold the event
  • confirm who is responsible for helping to organise and manage the event
  • clearly explain what steps will be in place to deal with expected or unexpected situations
  • detail plans to respond effectively to health and safety incidents and other emergencies
  • contain risk assessments and list emergency contacts

It is expected that the level of detail should be proportional to:

  • the scale of the event
  • the degree of risk

We will accept application forms which have been sent via email or by post. Each application will be looked at fairly in line with current statutory, regulatory and policy requirements.

  • We accept no responsibility for the:
    • non-arrival of application forms or supporting information
    • cancellations
  • we charge a non-refundable application fee
  • all application forms and EMPs are sent to internal and external parties. These are people who need to know about and be involved in the approval of the event
  • we co-ordinate and chair a Safety Advisory Group (SAG). For more information please visit our SAG pages

This is to make sure that risk to public safety is minimized.

Under no circumstances will an event be authorised where:

  • the health and safety risk is considered to be unacceptable
  • appropriate licences, consents or permissions required are not in place

When an application is approved, we will send the event organiser an AIP and invoice. An AIP is the document that sets out the conditions that the event organiser must agree to. This is required before permission may be given to hold the event.

The AIP will confirm:

  • our standard conditions
  • any additional conditions to be applied (specific to the nature of the event)
  • all associated costs

The event invoice will confirm:

  • the fee to hire the event location
  • any other associated charges for the use of our services. This can include:
    • connection to our power or water supply
    • extending public toilet opening hours
    • additional consumables
    • traffic management or road closure costs

Payment is required in full upon receipt of the event invoice.

The invoice will not include fees and charges relating to any other applications you may need to obtain:

  • The event organiser will be required to demonstrate their acceptance of the AIP by:
    • signing and returning a copy of the AIP
    • providing a copy of the valid Public Liability Insurance Certificate
    • providing copies of any other application approval, permission or consents required for the event, if relevant
  • We will send an event permit to the event organiser upon their acceptance of the AIP. The permit will confirm:
    • the application reference number
    • the name of the person authorised to hold the event (the event organiser)
    • date(s) and time(s) the event is authorised to be held
    • the authorised location of the event
    • the title of the event
    • our standard conditions
    • any conditions specifically applied in addition to standard conditions

An event permit is not transferrable and cannot me transferred or sublet to any other person.

Applications can be assessed and considered unsuitable. If so, we will detail our reasons for refusal.

Refused applications can be reviewed if you believe:

  • we have not followed our procedures
  • we have not applied our criteria appropriately

If you believe this to be the case, you should write to us and explain why.

Reviews will not take place on the grounds of objection to current policy requirements. We cannot review any objections to the current policy under the Corporate Complaints Procedure. This is because the policy was a formal decision taken by the Council’s Cabinet.

Go to top