Planning a Public Event
If you are organising a public event you need to be aware that a great deal of planning and organisation is required to run an event successfully. You must consider the safety of all involved and the compliance with a wide range of legislation. You must remember that, at all times, you are responsible for all aspects of the event under your control. If running an event regularly, you should review previous events on an ongoing basis, seek advice from relevant parties and implement any changes.
Responsibility can include seeking advice from a relevant authority or agency, completing a risk assessment and the identification of those measures which will maintain the duty of care for both organisers and attendees. For some events, substantial resources may be necessary to fulfill traffic regulations, fire safety, medical cover and the maintenance of public orders.
We chair the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) for events planned within the area.
Safety Advisory Group - member organisations
The following groups are permanently represented on the SAG:
- East Lothian Council
- Police Scotland
- Scottish Fire and Rescue
- Scottish Ambulance Service
There are a range of other organisations and agencies, such as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Transport Scotland, etc that can be consulted by the permanent group if the proposed event requires this.
Before planning a public event please read the East Lothian Safety Advisory Group Policy.
Informing the SAG of your Event
If you are planning an event you should consider the events already notified to the SAG to prevent any conflict of dates, routes or adverse cumulative impacts on communities. A list of public events is available using the link below. You should then contact the SAG as soon as possible using the notification form below.
Notification of a proposed public event form
See a list of planned public events
For any specific questions or advice email: events@eastlothian.gov.uk.
Please give 12 weeks advance warning of the event.
Remember the organiser of the event is responsible for safety at public events.
We would encourage you to consult the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Event Safety Guide.
Event organisers are strongly urged to engage with community representatives to ensure a successful and safe event takes place.
Next steps
Once submitted, the notification form will be automatically distributed around relevant members of the group who may then contact you if it is thought that there are some issues that you need to consider or address.
A decision will be made as to whether the Event Organiser will require to meet with the SAG in person to discuss their event in more detail.
The Events and Resilience Officer will be in touch with the Events Organiser within 10 days of submission to discuss the proposed event.