Holding events in parks

With the largest expanse of green spaces in inner London, Hackney has a total of 58 parks, gardens and open spaces totalling 282 hectares, encompassing the largest concentration of football pitches in Europe at Hackney Marshes and the beautiful and historic settings of Springfield and Clissold Parks. We welcome applications for large and small events that encourage cultural cohesion and exposure to new experiences in Hackney.

Please visit your chosen site to ensure it meets all your requirements before applying.

 

Most popular venues

See the site map on each page to help you decide which park most suits the needs of your event.

Apply to hold an event

Apply to hold an event in a park

Please note: you will need to discuss the event feasibility and space availability with an officer prior to making the application. To do this please contact the events office on 020 8356 4309 or email hackney.events@hackney.gov.uk.

Please also see the information below re fees, application timeline, refundable bond, provisional acceptance, final approval, licensing, our events policy and waste management.

Documents to submit with your application

Please read, sign and submit our terms and conditions, along with an event management plan (including a park site plan for your event) and a risk assessment.

If you’re planning to provide catering, please also complete and submit:

Other guidance

Fees and payments

The fee you pay to hold an event in a park will vary depending on the number of people attending, the type of event and type of group organising it. The fee will cover the hire of the park or open space for the actual event days as well as any set up and dismantling before and after your event.

Fees for events with over 500 attendees

For these events you will be required to make a deposit payment of £100 at the same time as the submission to cover the cost of the extensive administration required. This amount will be refundable against the cost of the event.  However, if the organiser cancels the event this will not be returned and the usual timescales for payment will still apply.

Application timeline

The amount of lead time required for event applications varies dependant on the nature and scale of the event.

  • major scale – 9 months (e.g. events with an attendance of 10,000+)
  • large scale – 6 months (e.g. events with an attendance between 5,000 and 9,999)
  • medium scale – 3 months (e.g. event with an attendance between 250 to 4,999 people)
  • small scale – 6 weeks (e.g. family celebrations/ birthday parties with little no infrastructure for no more than 249 people)

Once the event application has been received an acknowledgement will be sent within five working days.

Refundable bond

In addition to the site fee, a refundable bond is required to ensure any damage caused as a result of the event occurring can be resolved and that litter which has not been properly managed by the organiser can be cleared by our Waste Management Department when the event has vacated the site. The Bond is fully refundable providing there is no damage or waste issues.

The site fee and bond payment for park hire needs to be received as cleared funds before final approval of the event can be given. The event approval stage is divided into two parts, the provisional acceptance and the final approval.

Provisional acceptance

All applications are sent for initial consultation to the Metropolitan Police, the relevant park user group, our parks, licensing, noise pollution and community safety teams and the local ward councillors. When assessing an application they consider all aspects of the event including how it will impact the local environment and the potential benefits and/or disadvantages to residents.

Provisional event acceptance or refusal will take approximately 10 working days to 4 weeks to process depending on the size of the event.

The provisional acceptance letter will detail the additional documentation needed to process the application further and notification of the fees and Bond that will be required. This documentation includes, but is not limited to: an event management plan; an original copy of the public liability insurance certificate; a fire risk assessment; a noise impact assessment; a waste management plan and general risk assessment.

At this stage, if necessary, the events organiser will be invited to attend and present their event to the Hackney events advisory team (HEAT) meeting. HEAT attendance is usually a requirement for larger events or any event which may have safety concerns for the Council.

The membership of HEAT includes representatives from our parks, licensing: waste management; health & safety; highways and transport, environmental health, trading standards and noise pollution teams. External partner membership includes representatives from: the Metropolitan Police; London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service. HEAT will consider the event proposal in detail and the meeting gives key stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions, raise objections or concerns and/or give advice for the event proposal.

If the application is considered to be viable after HEAT attendance, our events officer will send a letter to the event organiser with the list of additional requirements which have been requested by HEAT and will need to be fulfilled before final approval can be given.

Final approval

Once all the above stages have been completed and the relevant fees have been paid, a final approval letter will be sent to the event organiser confirming the event is agreed and may go ahead.

Licensing

For events of up to 499 people who are proposing to sell alcohol and or have regulated entertainment, the event organisers will need to apply for a temporary events notice (TENs) via our licensing department. For events of over 499 people and dependant upon the location required, the event organiser will have to apply for a premises license. For more information on licensing your event please see licensing.

Events policy

The Council’s parks and green spaces events policy  was adopted in April 2012 and updated in January 2013. It outlines the types of events that Hackney wishes to support in its open spaces, and the measures that we take to reduce the impact that events have on local residents. It also sets out guidelines on the maximum number of events permitted in each major park in Hackney.

Waste management

It is important that the waste generated from events is managed in accordance to the size and scale of the event. As the event organiser you will be responsible for ensuring the park and the areas immediately surrounding the park are kept clear of waste generated from the event.

To help you devise a suitable waste management plan the following information must be included as part of your event management plan.

Organisers must provide the following:

  • a waste carriers’ licence for the company providing the waste management.
  • end destination details and transfer notes for the residual waste and recycling produced during the event.
  • information of the number and type(s) of containers being used to contain the waste and recycling produced during the event
  • information on the positioning of waste and recycling containers within the site (applicable for large events over 1,000 attendees)
  • cleansing plan for immediate area surrounding the event (applicable for large events over 1,000 attendees)
  • number of staff and shift pattern for waste management and cleansing (applicable for large events over 1,000 attendees)

In addition to the refundable bond set for the hire of the park, you will also be charged a refundable waste management bond. This is to cover the cost of the council having to clear any waste generated from your event that was not sufficiently cleared.

The bond levels are as follows:

Waste management bond from event organisers (to address the potential impact outside the site)

Capacity (judged by number of attendees per day) Scale Waste management bond
10,000 or more major scale £2,000 per day
5000-9999 large scale £1,000 per day
1,000-4999 medium scale £500 per day
250-999 small / medium scale £250 per day
0-249 small scale nil

 

Page updated on: 7 July 2022

Park Events

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Hackney Service Centre
1 Hillman Street
E8 1DY

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