Give your views on new events policy

Public consultation on the city council’s new draft events policy has started.

Canterbury district has a wide variety of events each year for the public to enjoy, organised by some incredibly hard-working groups and individuals.

And behind the scenes, the council helps organisers with this process, on issues such as public safety, street cleaning, road closures and insurance cover where appropriate.

Now, in order to try and streamline the process and to continue to support organisers, the council has put together a new draft events policy and is asking for views. The aim is to reduce costs where possible and improve transparency and understanding of what is required when putting on an event.

The council has also recently appointed a new events officer dedicated to helping organisers. This single point of contact will further simplify the process for those putting on events.

Chairman of the council’s Community Committee, Cllr Neil Baker, said: “We’re lucky to have some of the most dedicated and enthusiastic event organisers for miles around right here in the district. It’s thanks to them that we have things like festivals, carnivals and fairs to enjoy all year round, and that local businesses get a much-needed economic boost.

“Our priority is to ensure these events happen safely and that as many people as possible get to experience them. We have already gathered informal views from organisers, which have helped to shape the policy, and now we’re keen to hear what people think of what we’re proposing.”

The new draft policy can be viewed and commented on via the council’s website. The deadline for comments is Monday 26 November. Councillors will consider the policy early in 2019 and the aim is to have it in place by February, when plans for events next year are starting to take shape.

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