Draft Events Management Policy

We are currently reviewing and updating our Events Management Policy as part of our commitment to delivering aspirations set out in our Corporate Plan.

This review is designed to balance our want for more events in the district, with the need to minimise potential disruption to residents and reduce strain on some of our essential services such as street cleaning.

Recent early engagement with residents and event organisers about the current event management process involved two stakeholder events in Canterbury and Whitstable, input from resident groups, and an interdepartmental workshop for council officers.

This early feedback has been invaluable in shaping the proposed improvements to event policy and if adopted will shape our processes in the future.

The draft policy aims to address points raised by introducing staggered notice periods based on event scale, encouraging early collaboration in event planning, and providing clear guidelines on requirement documentation.

While fee-setting is beyond the policy’s scope, it proposes tiered fees based on event size, with discounts for not-for-profit and private sector incentives to promote activity in certain areas. It also includes provisions for deposits, enforcement, and refusal of applications for non-compliance, drawing on feedback and benchmarking from neighbouring councils.

We are now seeking your views on the following:

• the core aims of the policy, which outline how we envision events operating across the district
• the principles and objectives that will guide how we support and deliver these aims
• our approach to fees and charges, including how events are categorised and whether discounts and subsidies should be offered based on the event’s value to the community
• existing spaces and locations that we currently use to host events

The feedback from this consultation will directly influence the final adopted Events Management Policy.

Have your say

We would like to know what you think about the policy, which you can view here. You can also read the events prospectus.

Give us your views by completing our questionnaire by 5pm on Monday 6 January 2025.

Alternatively, you can email your comments to consultations@canterbury.gov.uk or write to Consultations Team, Canterbury City Council, 14 Rose Lane, Canterbury, CT1 2UR.

Paper copies of the questionnaire are available on request. If you need a paper copy, please contact Victoria Asimaki, Principal Policy Officer (Engagement) at consultations@canterbury.gov.uk.

If you would like to see what questions you will be asked before you start filling in the survey, you can see a list of the questions.

All the feedback we receive will be reported to councillors in early 2025 before the final policy is adopted in the spring of 2025.

You can also read the Equality Impact Assessment and the Climate Change Impact Assessment contained within the Cabinet report (pages 6 to 11).

Published: 14 October 2024