Event planning guide

No one wants to cause a nuisance went they put on event, so as organisers you need to remember that there are four specific issues that are felt to be a cause of public nuisance and therefore need to be managed:

• Noise
• Litter and waste
• Pest control

Preventing Noise Nuisance

Amplified music and other noise associated with events can cause real problems to neighbouring residents and often leads to them making complaints to the Police and the Council which can lead to your event being cancelled for future years or noise restrictions being put on the event. If a statutory noise nuisance is caused the Local Authority is obliged to serve an Abatement Notice on the organiser or person causing the nuisance. Failure to comply with the Notice could result the seizure of the equipment and/or prosecution.

So as an organiser of any event not just a music event should be aware of the Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at Concerts and also have a written Noise Management Plan that looks at the main areas of concern which are typically:

• For how long and at what time of day that music will be played  
• At what sort of level will the music be played, this does not just refer to the volume but also the frequency. For example, will there be excessive bass?
• Music noise levels should not exceed 65dB(A) over a 15-minute period when measured one metre from the front of any noise sensitive property.
• All noise complaints should be forwarded to Environmental Health within 7 days of the event.
• Monitor your noise levels across the event site and at various points during the event.
• Document your proposal to deal with noise issues in your event plan and as part of your risk assessments

Neighbourhood Noise Checklist

• It is advisable to make one person responsible for dealing with all noise issues. Consider who are you likely to disturb?
• Let neighbours know about the nature, timing and duration of your event and tell them what to expect by a letterbox drop, notices in local shops / community centre etc.
• Provide a contact telephone number to receive information/complaints from residents.
• Be considerate about how loudly music is played, particularly late at night.
• Keep windows and doors closed if the noise source is inside a building.
• Bass level noise is the most intrusive - lowering the volume of the bass will help to reduce how far it carries.
• Some neighbours could be working or sleeping, try to encourage your audience if leaving late to leave as quietly as possible.
• Events may not be as well tolerated or acceptable if they run late or are particularly noisy. Please make every effort to talk to your neighbours, as it will reduce complaints.

Litter and Waste

As the event organiser you are responsible for handing back the site to the owner whether that is the Council or not in the same condition as when you received it. That means litter and rubbish free.

Litter and rubbish comes from 3 main areas on the site:

• The general Public
• Food vendors
• Traders

What you are looking to do is pre-empt that there will be waste from all of the above and put measures in place to deal with them.

The general public will also drop litter, however if a site is already littered and nobody seems to be managing this the problem will be made worse. Have a clean site and when someone drops litter they will stand out and they are therefore less likely to do it. So, make sure you have plenty of bins on site and staff are seen regularly litter picking the site.

Food vendors generate a huge amount of additional waste which comes from the packages from the ingredients supplied to the packing the food is served in. Some event organisers make food vendors responsible for their own waste, they have to provide the additional bins and take their product waste aware with them. If this is not the case, you will possibly need to engage with the Council for some kind of commercial waste removal.

Normal traders also generate a large amount of waste usually cardboard from all their packaging, they need to be encouraged to flatten all boxes and either stack waste for collection or provide them with a skip.

Tips to reduce waste

• Provide plenty of bins for the public
• Regularly litter pick your site don't leave it until the end of the event
• Encourage food vendors to group together and take away their own waste
• Provide additional bins in food courts
• Don't allow traders to leaflet on site as most people will take them then walk away and drop them.
• Encourage recycling
• If you have a bar encourage reusable cups in order to reduce plastic waste

Pest Control

If your event is being held over a few days and particularly has a food-based theme, then as well as a large audience you may also attract some unwelcome visitors such as rats and foxes.

To avoid this, encourage your traders to keep all food products off the floor in plastic containers especially open products. They must clear away all rubbish at night or full bins must be sealed with a lid.

If rubbish is being placed in a skip it should be a box skip with doors again, so it is not acceptable by humans or wildlife.