Our Safety Advisory Group provides free advice to event organisers on topics including safety, street closures and required licences.
If you’re planning an event that will involve a large gathering of people, you can attend the group’s monthly meeting to discuss it and ask for guidance. Tell us about the event as soon as possible, even if you have not yet confirmed all the details.
We want to know about any large event, including fetes and fairs, open-air concerts and festivals, trade shows, sporting events, fireworks displays and street parties.
We’ll ask you to provide copies of documents including your event’s management plan and risk assessment. You can use our template if you do not already have a management plan.
The Safety Advisory Group exists solely in an advisory capacity – you remain legally responsible for ensuring your event runs safely.
You should make sure you have the correct licences and permits to run your event, including making sure that all caterers at your event are properly licensed and follow food hygiene rules.
Follow the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on running events safely and Public Health’s risks advisory notice [PDF, 0.7MB]. The government provides crowded places guidance, and the Events Industry Forum’s Purple Guide (subscription required) can help you manage health and safety.
We chair the Safety Advisory Group, which includes representatives from the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services, Public Health, the county council, and other relevant organisations.
We will uphold reasonable standards of safety at all public events in Cambridge, to ensure the public’s wellbeing and minimise inconvenience caused to local residents, businesses and the public.
As the licensing authority we will enforce the relevant statutory provisions to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees, attendees, and members of the public at all public events. This includes the erection and dismantling of any structures or equipment used at the event.
