Holding events in parks, green spaces and streets in Hackney

You need to submit your application well in advance of your event. How early you need to submit your application depends on the scale of the event:

• 10 months for major scale events that have 10,000+ people
• 9 months for large scale events that have between 5,000 and 9,999 people
• 6 months for medium scale events that have between 250 and 4,999 people
• 8 weeks for small scale events, such as family celebrations with little or no infrastructure for between 50 and 249 people

Once we receive your application we’ll send you an acknowledgement email. We usually send this within 5 working days.

Late applications will be processed at the Event Team’s discretion.

You don’t need to apply to have a small gathering. This is classed as an event with less than 50 people in a public space.

When you have a small, informal gathering in a public park or green space, there are certain rules you need to follow to make sure everyone can enjoy the space.

We ask that you don’t have:

• amplified music or loud noise
• inflatables, such as bouncy castles
• onsite infrastructure, such as gazebos or vehicles
• catering or barbeques

We also ask that you try to avoid bringing any single-use plastics into the parks.

If this is not possible, make sure you use the correct recycling bins to help us effectively process the waste.

We’re asking visitors to our parks and green spaces to use less single-use plastic as part of our pledge to improve environmental sustainability of our events and activities.

We ask that you:

• are mindful and respectful of other people in the park
• are respectful of the parks and green spaces environment and wildlife
• make sure all rubbish is collected and recycled in the bins provided or removed from the site

If you don’t know if your event is a small gathering, contact the Events Team on 020 8356 4309 or hackney.events@hackney.gov.uk.

Hackney has the largest amount of green spaces in inner London. It has over 60 parks, gardens and open spaces where you can host an event.

View a list and map of all the parks and green spaces in Hackney.

If you would like to hold an event in the Hackney Town Hall or other council-owned buildings contact Hackney Venues by emailing venuehire@hackney.gov.uk or calling 0208 356 5505.

If you’d like to apply to organise a street party or an event on a street, visit Street parties or large commercial events.

While you apply for sports days as you would any other event, there are some extra things you need to think about for this kind of event.

Not all sites have guaranteed access to toilet facilities. This means you might need to organise temporary toilets for your school’s sports day.

If you need line markings, email Hackney.events@hackney.gov.uk separately from your event application.

Check our events calendar to find out when you can hold an event.

Some dates appear free but can’t be booked because of event policies that apply to parks, green space and street venues.

After you submit your application, your events officer will confirm whether you’ll be able to use that date.

Fees and charges for events in parks and green spaces

The fee you pay to hold an event in a park or green space depends on:

• the number of people attending
• the type of event
• type of group or organisation

The fee will cover the hire of the park or green space for the actual event days as well as any set-up and dismantling days before and after your event.

Fees and charges for events on streets

There is no fee for holding an event on a street, but you might need to pay:

• a damage bond
• fees for any road closures, temporary traffic orders, parking suspensions, licences or street vendor consents

At Hackney Council, we are committed to making sure that all events are as sustainable as possible.

We work with all event organisers to advise on ways to make sure their events are as sustainable as possible.

We aim to:

• reduce single-use plastics
• review catering and production waste
• develop individual cleansing plans

All applications need to show evidence that you have thought about how to make your event sustainable. This includes thinking about how you might be able to:

• avoid using single-use plastics
• reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
• clearly label recycling bins – however, recycling should be the last option, try to eliminate use first
• use compost bins for food waste and compostable products
• donate untouched food
• take all waste off the site, including wooden pallets
• reduce cable tie use and consider alternatives
• use a cup replacement scheme
• package any freebies without plastic wrap and don’t make them event specific, for example no date or year written on them

Provisional acceptance

Once you submit your application, it’s reviewed by:

• the Metropolitan Police
• the relevant park user group
• our teams across parks operations, licensing, noise pollution, streetscene, community safety teams and the local ward councillors

When they review your application, they consider all the potential impacts of the event. This includes how it will impact the local environment and the potential benefits and disadvantages to residents.

The provisional acceptance letter will take around 14 working days to arrive.

The letter will tell you:

• what documents you need for the next step of your application
• the fees and bond that you’ll need to pay for the event

Some of the documents we might ask you for include:

• event management plan
• public liability insurance certificate
• fire risk assessment
• noise impact assessment
• waste management plan
• general risk assessment

At this stage, if necessary, we will invite the event’s organiser to attend and present their event to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG). You will usually have to join a SAG for larger events or any event that might have safety concerns for the council.

The SAG will consider your event proposal in detail and the meeting will give the relevant organisations the opportunity to:

• ask questions
• raise objections or concerns
• give advice for the event proposal

Final approval

Once all the above stages have been completed and the relevant fees have been paid, we will send a final approval letter to the event organiser.

The letter will confirm that the event is agreed and can go ahead.

You need an alcohol or regulated entertainment licence for your event if you want to serve alcohol or have entertainment, such as live music or performances.

The way you apply for this licence depends on how many people you will have at your event.

For events of up to 499 people, apply for a Temporary events notice.

For events of 500 or more people, apply for a premises licence.

If you plan on filming with a drone (also known as an unmanned aircraft system) at your event, you need:

• permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
• public liability insurance covering drone operations for commercial purposes (minimum £10 million cover)

Submit your application through FilmApp.

FilmApp also has relevant guidance documents about using drones.

If you plan on having food vendors at your event, you need to submit certain catering and trader documents to your event officer. They will then be given to our Environmental Health team for review.

You need to submit these documents 3 weeks before your event.

If you miss this deadline for any of your documents, we might not review them. As a result, you might not be allowed to have food vendors at your event.

Some of the documents you might be asked to submit include:

• outdoor catering questionnaire
• food hygiene rating and certification
• food safety management systems
• allergen information
• general risk assessment and fire risk assessment
• LPG certification and PAT certification
• public liability insurance
• hand washing facilities will be required on site

You apply for food vendor consent as part of the event application process. Your event officer will let you know what documents you need to supply.

You need a street trading licence for any event that has 5 or more stalls.

Your event officer will tell you how to apply for this licence through the markets and street trading service.

For more information about trading at your event, visit our Market trading licence page.

If you need to stop vehicles using a parking bay within a parking zone for your event, apply for a parking suspension.

We need to receive your application at least 7 working days before your event.

You must have permission for your event before you apply for a parking suspension.

For more information, visit Parking bay suspensions.

If you plan on building structures for your event, you might need to submit a planning application to get planning permission. You need to do this before any work starts.

Whether you need planning permission will depend on:

• the type of structures and build activity you need
• how long your event will go on for

For more information, see Find out if you need planning permission.

If you plan on collecting money for charity in any public space in Hackney, you need to submit an application to the Metropolitan Police.

Applications must be received at least 30 days before your event.

For more information on charity collections, see Street collection licences – Metropolitan Police.

If your event needs a road to be closed or impacts on the flow of traffic the highway then you need to get a temporary traffic regulation order to either hold traffic or to fully close the road.

To get a temporary traffic regulation order, you need to:

• submit your application at least 6 weeks before your event
• be able to provide a traffic management plan
• have a traffic management company in place to manage the temporary traffic regulation order

For more information, visit Apply for a road closure and diversion.

If you want to hold a small, non-commercial street party or resident street party you need permission from the council to close the road. For more information see Street parties or large or commercial events.