Royal Birthday Wishes

This year, the country will get together, hopefully on a hot summer’s day, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. She will be celebrating her official birthday with a three day party beginning on Friday the 10th June. It is anticipated that this will be the busiest time of the year for parties in the United Kingdom. With this in mind, the Government has already provided guidance for organising street parties and have encouraged local authorities to “support local residents in bringing down any barriers that stop local areas from holding small private parties”. The Guidance also includes a simple form which can be used as a formal notification to a local authority.

I suspect that a number of operators will also wish to contribute to the celebrations, either at their premises, in a beer garden or even on the streets, supporting local events or fetes. Operators may consider erecting a marquee or something similar, installing a temporary bar or providing entertainment but there are a number of matters which should be considered to help the celebrations to be a success.

This checklist is not exhaustive, but it identifies some things which should be considered.

• Speak to neighbours to ensure that they are aware of the plans for this event.
• Pre-consult with the authorities, as they may have concerns about obstructing public roads without proper notice and approval. The council may also expect you to comply with their local processes for this event.
• Ensure that there is insurance cover for events conducted outside your premises.
• Check existing premises licences and licensing plans to identify any restrictions which could affect any proposals including the use of external areas.
• If there will be use of a temporary bar or marquee, then you may need further authorisation by way of a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). Ensure that the TEN covers the sale of alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises. This ensures that customers will be able to take their drinks from any point of sale.
• If there is any form of entertainment including live or recorded music, then again, check whether any premises licence covers this. If it does not, then you may be able to rely on the various exemptions for live and recorded music under the Live Music Act 2012 and subsequent deregulation but legal advice should be taken.
• Do a risk assessment to assess whether or not door staff or marshals are required and ensure that they are booked early.
• The use of CCTV to monitor any outside area is always a good deterrent against bad behaviour.
• Ensure the outside area is cleaned on a regular basis.
• Neighbours’ main complaints usually revolve around noise. Careful control is therefore required, especially if celebrations are taking place on the Sunday or late into the evenings.

It is important to remember that there may be other considerations relating for example, to health and safety, food safety and fire safety, so legal advice is always recommended. This will help to ensure that the Queen has a happy birthday and your celebrations are not only successful but safe.