Event planning

Effective planning is fundamental to a successful and safe event that everyone can enjoy, including you as the organiser. Event organisers are not expected to be experts in everything and there is a lot of help and guidance that is available to you. 

Discussing ideas and plans throughout the planning stages, not only with Rugby Borough Council and emergency services, but other local organisers, can help you avoid unnecessary expense, common pitfalls and other problems closer to or during the event when it is too late to change.
 

Event management plan

Download our Event Management Plan template
 

Venue and Site facilities

Choose your venue carefully depending on the size of the event you are planning.  You should consider equipment and the number of people you plan to attract.
 

Key Considerations

• How many people are likely to attend – research similar events? Is the site big enough to accommodate everyone comfortably?
• Are there enough exits to get everyone out in an emergency?
• Are there any features that might impact on the event? E.g. ditches, banks, trees, overhead cables, gradients, ponds, rivers, sub stations, ground conditions etc.
• Can you get any vehicles you need on and off the site without causing any damage or getting stuck?
• If the event takes place in the evening is there adequate lighting?
• Is it going to be accessible to everyone?
• What will be the effect on parking in the surrounding area?
• What are the timings for the event, particularly if the site is in a residential area?
• Carry out a site visit and draw everything you need onto a site plan. It makes it easier to visualise and explain to others.
• If it is taking place on RBC land or property, you must apply to us.

Venue Facilities

• Toilet provision
• Waste & Recycling facilities
• Electricity supply
• Water supply
• Fencing required
• Parking facilities
• Public transport

Decide if you need anything else to cater for the audience you hope to attract, but please remember that anything you hire will become your responsibility once it is on site and must be covered by your insurance. You need to think about these aspects early on so that you can arrange for services to be provided.
 

Hiring RBC Land

If the event is held on RBC land, fill out the following form
 

Establish an Event Team 

Identify a group of people that will help to plan and deliver the event.

Depending on the size of the event you are planning you may need extra help.  It can be a good idea to appoint an Event Manager and Safety Officer early on. It is difficult to manage the organisation of the event as well as the health and safety elements so we strongly recommend that these roles should be split.

Make sure you have a reliable and competent person to be the Safety Officer for your event. Beforehand they will be responsible for the risk assessment and all necessary documents you need such as your insurances. During the event, they need to be easy to spot and get hold of and they will ensure they look after the safety of the venue throughout the event. This should include numbers of people, any structures, barriers, electrical supplies and all other equipment. They will also be in charge of looking after and managing the stewards at the event.
 

Roads 

If you need to close a public highway please include all information in your event notification form so that it can be passed onto WCC Highways and Warwickshire Police. In most cases, a road closure request must be made at least 12 weeks before your event!
 

Licences 

Licences are needed for events with alcohol, entertainment or late night refreshments, Charity and street collections and lotteries/raffles.
 

Food and Drink

If any food is going to be served (even if it is free), our Environmental Health Team will review your paperwork and offer useful information and advice.
 

Risk Assessment

Make sure that you do a risk assessment – this is a careful examination of the potential hazards that may be involved in a particular activity or range of activities. Use common sense to ensure that risks have been evaluated and that nobody is going to get hurt. 
 

Accessibility 

Have a think about how deaf and disabled people will get on at your event and make sure that you make any adjustments needed to accommodate them. 

Wherever possible, consider arrangements that will make provision for all people with special needs. These include individuals with mobility problems and sensory impairment including blindness, deafness and deafblindness.

You should consider the points set out below when planning provision:

• Access
• Ramps
• Viewing Areas
• Public Information and Address systems
• Facilities
• Support
• Evacuation procedures
• Publicity
• Assistance Dog access
• Medical, ambulance and first-aid management

Some useful links are: 

• Running accessible events
• Organising Accessible Events Toolkit - Word
• For larger events it may be appropriate for the event organiser to contact the Disability Forum for advice
   

Rubbish

The public and those putting on the entertainment will create rubbish, often in considerable quantities, some of which may well be hazardous. As the event organiser it is important to consider the removal of any waste generated by your event. Both concessions and audiences generate large quantities of waste material during an event. You should carefully consider how the waste would be managed to minimise the risks associated with accumulation, collection and final disposal. Event organisers can contact us to discuss management of the litter and/or trade waste created by your event.

Key considerations:

• What types of waste will be produced
• Is there the potential for fire risk
• What other hazards are posed by waste
• Which areas of the event are likely to generate waste
• What information needs to be exchanged with the waste contractor
• When and how will the waste be collected
• When and how will the waste be removed
• The health, safety and welfare of employees and event workers
• What can be recycled
   

Noise

Noise generated by events can be disturbing and there is guidance to help those planning events to reduce the risk of disturbance from noise. Noise disturbance can include music, public address systems, fireworks, the audience and equipment such as generators. Consideration must always be given to residents and businesses living and operating close to where the event is taking place. Noise control should form an integral part of the event planning process and after considering the suitability of a venue, you must consider carefully the position of entry and exit points, stage location, equipment, car parking etc.

Many outdoor events, particularly those held during the summer, include noisy activities. These may include music, fireworks, public announcements and generators. Most events like this are occasional, but when events occur regularly at the same site, noise can be annoying to local residents. Those that organise events need to consider noise disturbance when they plan an event. Our Environmental Health Team at RBC is happy to offer advice and answer your questions.
 

Talk to your community

Engage with the local community, residents and local businesses as they may be affected by your event, especially if you are having road closures. You could do this by hand delivering letters or leaflets.

Be sure to include a contact name and number so that they know who to contact if they have any questions or concerns.
 

Make a plan

Prepare an Event Management Plan.  This document covers all aspects of your event and how you plan to manage them.

Advertise 
 

Think about how you will advertise your event and whether planning permission is required. Remember to allow enough time for an application to be processed and if necessary for an alternative form of advertising to be considered.

Promoting your event

You should consider using legal methods such as local radio, newspapers, magazines and town and village newsletters. Local newspapers and radio often have a ‘what’s on’ section. You could submit a press release or, to guarantee space or airtime, you could consider paid-for advertising. Shop owners will often put posters in their windows for a small fee.

You can also put your posters, signs or banners on land where the event is due to take place but you must firstly obtain the landowner’s permission. If you are advertising a local event of a religious, educational, cultural, political, social or recreational nature you will not in accordance with Class 3(D) of the Advertisement Regulations require express advertisement consent providing:

• The event or activity is not being carried out for commercial purposes
• The advertisement does not exceed 0.6 of a square metre
• The advertisement is not displayed earlier than 28 days before the event or activity is due to take place
• The advertisement is removed within 14 days after the end of the event or activity
• No letters, figures, symbols or similar features of the design of the advert are over 0.75 of a metre in height, or 0.3 of a metre in height if they are in any Area of Special Control
• The advertisement is not illuminated
• No part of the advertisement is more than 4.6 metres above ground- level, or 3.6 metres in an Area of Special Control

Advertising for events, even on private land, may require express advertisement consent if it falls foul of any of the above qualifying criteria.

Your event can also be listed on The Rugby Town's What's On webpage.
 

Safety is fundamental to the success of your event.  As the event organiser, you will be held liable by law, for the safety of those that are both staff at your event and attending your event.  To make sure your event is safe, you need to identify potential hazards and decide (with help if you need it) on what precautions you are going to put in place. 

All events that take place must comply with relevant safety law.  The most relevant for you to look at are:

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• The Occupiers Liability Act 1957/1984 and its accompanying regulations and standards of safety

So that you are ready for anything that might happen you need to do a risk assessment (a must if you are hiring Council Land and want to comply with health and safety laws). This document identifies any potential hazards at your event and how you will deal with them if they happen. Risk Assessments are not always large documents, small events may only be a page or so long. Most important is that they are relevant and contain realistic ways of controlling the risk. A template risk assessment can be downloaded from our website. If you require any assistance in completing your risk assessment then please contact the event officer at RBC. 

Plans should be put in place (as part of the risk assessment process) detailing how you would deal with an emergency such as personal accidents, crowd disturbance, lost children/vulnerable persons, bomb scares or adverse weather conditions (such as extreme heat, snow, heavy rain, gales/thunder and lightning).

Risk Assessment Example

Our sample risk assessment shows you what we look for in a risk assessment, however the example is not exhaustive and should be tailored to your event.

The United Kingdom has suffered several recent low-sophistication terror attacks at public spaces. This is in addition to the devastation of larger-scale atrocities, such as the Manchester Arena attack. Although terrorist attacks are rare, the threat from terrorism is real and increasingly unpredictable, with public spaces and crowded areas being increasingly viewed as attractive targets.

The targeting of such locations is usually a hostile individual's choice, which cannot always be anticipated. Attacks could potentially occur at any location, and preventing them can prove challenging, highlighting the government’s decision to consider what more could be done to improve public protection.

The Protect Duty will now be known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, in tribute to Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. Martyn’s Law is pending UK wide legislation that will place a requirement on those responsible for certain venues and public locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.

It will ensure that security preparedness is delivered consistently across the UK, for better protection of the public.

Find out how to prepare for this.
 

Who will Martyn’s Law apply to?

It is expected that when enacted the new legislation will apply to anyone responsible for venues and publicly accessible locations used for purposes such as entertainment and leisure, retail, food and drink, museums and galleries, sports grounds, public areas of local and central Government buildings (e.g., town halls), visitor attractions, temporary events, Places of Worship, health, and education.
 

What will Martyn’s Law require you to do?

The government have indicated that venues and publicly accessible locations will follow a tiered model linked to activity that takes place at a location and its capacity.

A standard tier will apply to locations with a capacity of 200 up to 799 people which can undertake low-cost, simple yet effective activities to improve preparedness. This will include:

• Conduct basic terrorism risk assessments to identify potential threats to their premises.
• Develop simple protective measures such as staff training on emergency responses.
• Implement plans for securing the premises during an incident, such as locking doors or creating safe routes.
• Establish evacuation procedures and designate safe areas.

An enhanced tier will focus on high-capacity venues with a capacity of 800+ people, or qualifying events with the same threshold. Organisations in this category will need to:

• Undertake more rigorous risk assessments, potentially with expert consultation.
• Implement advanced security measures like monitoring (CCTV), physical barriers or hiring security personnel.
• Develop and document detailed security plans, including how they will manage and respond to potential terrorist threats.

The government will establish an inspection and enforcement regime, promoting compliance and positive cultural change, and issuing credible and fair sanctions for serious breaches.

The Home Office has shared additional material to support the continued focus on raising awareness about The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, more commonly known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, and building on existing material such as the government factsheets and information on the ProtectUK website. The new resources are available here.
 

Martyn’s Law explainer video

Martyn’s Law explainer video | ProtectUK
 

Preparing for Martyn’s Law

Although no date has yet been set for the introduction of the legislation, we strongly advise that you start to implement your own security measures. Consider what you and your colleagues can do to make it harder for a would-be terrorist to carry out a successful attack, by:

• being alert to suspicious behaviour and activity in and around your site, such as people loitering or displaying an unusual level of interest in asking questions, filming or photographing
• assessing the possible vulnerabilities of your site to various attack methods, and taking suitable measures to mitigate the risks
• being security-minded in your communications, particularly online
• encouraging and enabling a security culture at your event and in the workplace, ensuring that any concerns can easily be reported and will be acted upon
• considering how you and your staff would respond to an incident occurring inside, outside, or near to your building or site
• consideration of risk assessments leading to a range of emergency plans and procedures being in place
• undertaking staff training and awareness raising
• employing security systems, processes and measures to mitigate threats

All such efforts are welcome and encouraged to create a culture of security.
 

Free training

ACT Awareness will provide nationally recognised corporate counterterrorism guidance to help people better understand, and mitigate against, current terrorist methodology.

The following eLearning modules are available:

• Introduction to terrorism
• Identifying security vulnerabilities
• How to identify and respond to suspicious behaviour
• How to Identify and Deal with a Suspicious Item
• What to do in the Event of a Bomb Threat
• How to Respond to a Firearms or Weapons attack
   

See, Check and Notify (SCaN)

See, Check and Notify (SCaN) aims to help businesses and organisations maximise safety and security using their existing resources. Your people are your biggest advantage in preventing and tackling a range of threats, including criminal activity, unlawful protest, and terrorism.

SCaN training empowers your staff to correctly identify suspicious activity and know what to do when they encounter it. The skills your staff learn will also help them to provide an enhanced customer experience. It helps ensure that individuals or groups seeking to cause your organisation harm are unable to get the information they need to plan their actions.

• See - Be aware of what’s happening around you and trust your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
• Check - You can make a real difference through vigilance and good customer service. Friendly engagement and eye contact can help disrupt a hostile, while improving the customer experience. Do not underestimate the power of saying ‘Hello, can I help you?’. Your intervention may save lives.
• Notify - Find out and learn your site’s security procedures. If you do not know how to report suspicious activity, ask your supervisor.
   

SCaN modules

SCaN is free and has 6 modules, delivered by qualified trainers.
 

Sign up for SCaN

SCaN is not about spending more money on security measures or employing more security staff. It’s about making simple changes and using the resources you already have more effectively. The enhanced customer experience will benefit your organisation, and this training could be the difference between your organisation being a target or not.

For more information on SCaN, visit the National Protective Security Authority.
 

How to develop a counter terrorism security plan for your event

The challenge faced in countering terrorism is most effectively managed when planning, event management, incident response safety, security, and service are reviewed together.

Event organisers have an obligation under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to provide a safe place for their employees to work, and for the visitors to their attractions and events.

Consideration of the risk posed by terrorists must form part of the considerations under this act. It is essential, for corporate governance, to ensure that all threats have been considered, and appropriate measures implemented to manage the exposure to risk. It must be recognised and understood that assessing general event risk is different to assessing security risk. It is essential that the person carrying out this task is competent.

When developing a proportionate plan for an event, it is essential to understand the principles of protective security. The measures should cover the deterring, detecting, delaying, mitigating and responding to an attack. It is not always appropriate to consider all of these aspects, but an understanding of how these work together is essential.

Deter involves discouraging adversaries from conducting an attack by making each element appear too physically or technically difficult to achieve. An example of this could be highly visible security patrols around the outside of the event.

Detect involves being alert to potential attack behaviours at every stage, from planning and reconnaissance to deployment. The deployment of behavioural detection operatives or encouraging staff to be aware of hostile reconnaissance behaviour are examples of detection methods.

Delay involves implementing measures that increase the time it takes for attackers to get to the location of vulnerability once the attack starts. This could be ensuring that the right type of perimeter fencing is used to ensure it is harder to penetrate.

Mitigate involves the use of measures to minimise the impact of an attack. The use of a hostile vehicle mitigation system to prevent vehicular access and provide appropriate stand-off is an example of this.

Respond involves ensuring that measures are in place to respond to an incident. This is crucial in ensuring that harm is kept to a minimum. Appropriate training of response staff and a credible response plan are key to ensuring that any incident is dealt with professionally.
 

Scope of the Act

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Scope (Premises)

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Scope (events)