Street Parties - Diamond Jubilee 2012

Street Parties - Diamond Jubilee 2012

All you need to know about hosting a Street Party for your Diamond Jubille celebrations in 2012

A special double bank holiday to celebrate the Queens Diamond Wedding Anniversary has been announced as Monday 4th & Tuesday 5th June.   

A thoroughly British way to celebrate, and a great way to get to know your neighbours, is to organise a Street Party. 

Bedford Borough Council hope that the information detailed below will help groups of friends or neighbours, parish councils, resident associations or any other community group to plan their street party so that it goes with a swing!

Street Parties are organised by groups of residents for their neighbours and are usually quite straight forward to organise.  They generally don’t include activities that need a licence, such as selling alcohol / trading or providing entertainment – but there’s plenty of information below on when licenses may be required.  You may want to close part, or all, of your street for your party and you’ll need to get permission to do this and you may require some insurance to cover your event.

Help / Advice in Organising your Party

Bedford Borough Councils events team will be running to street party sessions open for all to attend, these will be in February 2012 but will detailed nearer the time. In these sessions will consist of a presentation, question and answers and assistance in fill out the application forms if required.

We can be contacted via email on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Road Closures

Road Closure Application Form 

Applications to close the road need to be made at least 4 weeks prior to the Diamond Jubilee (12 weeks prior for a street party on a different day) There is no cost for the closure however signage and barriers need to be sourced (legal requirement) for further guidance please contact our Highways department..

Please be aware that applications for major roads / through roads / roads on Bus Routes are likely to be denied due to the complications associated with the diversions.

All of the residents / businesses on the street will need to be consulted, and access for pedestrians / resident vehicles/ emergency vehicles must be maintained.

Location

You don’t have to hold your party on a street - Do you live near a park or a green? It might be easier to hold your street party there, so a road closure is not required.  Perhaps speak to your local schools to see if they are doing anything. 

Licensing

It is most likely that a street party will not need a license.

You only need a licence if alcohol is being sold, sharing drinks with your neighbours does not require a licence. As long as your street party is a private party for residents only, the music is not advertised in advance to attract other people and you're not charging for attendance, then you will NOT need a licence. This is the case whether the music is live or recorded. You only need a licence to serve food if are planning to only sell hot food and drink after 11pm.

Please contact Licensing Service on 01234 221961 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.   

Insurance

It is likely that Bedford Borough Council will not require public liability insurance for a street party; however it is recommended that you obtain some cover. 

The size of you party and nature of activities planned will determine whether there is a need for insurance.

Public liability insurance can start from as little as £50 and you could split the cost between residents or even run a raffle to cover the cost. The Streets Alive and The Big Lunch websites offer helpful advice on this type of insurance.

Even if your party does not have insurance, this does not mean you need to forget about managing and minimising any risks or hazards that may be associated.  A simple risk assessment may help with this…

Raffles and tombola's

If the tickets are sold on the day and the prizes are not worth more than £500 in total then you won’t need a licence.  If you want to sell tickets in advance, you may need a lottery registration – contact Bedford Borough Council Licensing 01234 227449 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Proceeds from the tombola/raffle should go to either a good cause or towards covering the cost of your party.

Cleaning up afterwards

You will need to clean up after your street party.  It’s a good idea to make sure everyone knows what time the party will finish and to ask for volunteers in advance to help clear up.