The council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) advises on event safety aspects for public events that are planned to take place in Hounslow.
The group is a multi-agency forum to:
- Promote high levels of safety and welfare at events by giving advice and guidance
- Promote good practice in safety and welfare planning for events
- Ensure events have a minimal adverse impact on the local community
SAG meetings are chaired by the council, and membership includes the Emergency Services, Transport for London, British Transport Police and various council service areas, including; Environmental Health, Health and Safety, Licensing, Emergency Planning, Traffic Management and contractor agencies.
Event organisers responsible for the planning and managing an event may be required to attend SAG meetings to discuss various elements of event plans.
What sort of events does the Safety Advisory Group consider?
The SAG considers any event that has a large scale gathering of more than 5000 people and requires a premises license, taking place outdoors or as part of a non-permanent structure. The SAG will also consider any other event which may have high risk elements contained within them. An event such as these will be discussed at one of Hounslow SAG’s monthly meetings and safety advice and guidance on relevant legislation given to the event organisers.
Below are examples of events which may be considered by the SAG, depending on their scale and level of risk:
- Fetes, fairs,
- Open air concerts and music festivals
- Trade shows
- Sporting events
- Open air entertainment including theatre, opera and historic re-enactments
- Firework displays
- Large scale corporate gatherings or parties
- Processions, marches and carnivals
- Street parties
- Religious and ceremonial events
- Funfairs
Any member of the Safety Advisory Group has the right to raise any event to the attention of the SAG and may result in the event organiser been invited to a SAG meeting.
Planning your event
For advice and guidance on how to create an effective event plan and manage your time, resources and finances effectively visit these websites:
The Purple Guide gives nationally recognised guidance on all aspects of event planning and safety for a small subscription.
The London Event toolkit gives advice on event planning in London
Additionally, localised guidance on event planning can be found via the LBH Event Planning Guidance at the top of this page.
Time frames
The SAG will require adequate notice to be able to support events effectively. The SAG will do its utmost to assist and promote safe events to take place in the borough, but the earlier we are notified that your event is taking place the better.
Please consider the following as a guide:
- An event with attendance of 0-499 requires a minimum of 2 months’ notice.
- An event with attendance of 500-4,999 requires a minimum of 4-6 months’ notice.
- An event with attendance of 5,000 and above requires a minimum of 8 months’ notice
The timescales below denote the minimum timeframe required to get aspects of event approved by the council (not the SAG). Timings are clear working days (the day the application is received and the event start date are not included in the working days).
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10 working days |
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Events requiring temporary structure licence |
12 working days – 12 weeks depending on number and scale of temporary structures |
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6 weeks |
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10 working days |
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Events requiring planning permissions for banners or advertising |
12 weeks |
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12 weeks (Major / complex events with multiple road closures will require minimum 8 months’ notice) |
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1 - 2 months |
Contacting the SAG
To contact the SAG about a planned event or an event you are thinking about organising in the future please email us.
