Agenda item

Restricted item                     The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The Committee is requested to consider the contents of the report and the deferred Road Closure report from your meeting of 14 February 2018.

 

1.2       Members are asked to determine a schedule of fees for applications to close roads and the parameters for placing the legal notice which the Council must publish in respect of each application.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       Members are asked to consider the information presented and make recommendations, subject to any necessary amendments, as to:

 

1.     Whether a fee scheme based on indicative notional costs should be established;

2.     the categories and definition of events for which fees will be charged;

3.     the appropriate paper(s) that may be used to advertise an application for an order;

4.     the appropriate fees that are set for events; and,

5.     if a concessionary fee should be introduced in respect of voluntary organisations or charities and the level of that fee.

 

2.2       As these decisions are not a delegated function of the Licensing Committee any decision will be subject to ratification by Council.

 

3.0       Main report

 

            Key Issues

 

3.1       Members will recall that, at your meeting in February 2018, you considered the proposed fees for road closures and agreed to defer consideration to enable Officers to discuss with Athletics NI and other relevant parties the fees which they could potentially be required to pay to allow for road closures for 10k runs and other sporting events.

 

3.2       A copy of the minutes from your February meeting is attached as Appendix 1. As a reminder for Members some of the key points from that report are:

 

            Classification of events

 

            Small local events

 

3.3       The event is a small, local, neighbourhood event where people attending are not from outside the street (e.g. street party) or immediate neighbourhood. To be considered a ‘small event’ the event should meet the following criteria:

 

 

1.     It is held on minor residential roads (e.g. cul-de-sacs or side streets);

2.     The proposed road to be closed must not have a bus route along it;

3.     The proposed road to be closed must not have a car park located on it which is accessed via the road to be closed (other than a car park for residents of the road);

4.     The event must not be publicised for the general public and therefore will not draw in people from the wider area;

5.     The event should apply to residents of one or two streets only and not to larger areas of the district/borough/city. It is up to the Council to consider factors such as the proposed attendance figures, etc. when making its decision on whether to grant an Order.

6.     The event should finish by 11.00 pm and:

 

·        Not have a stage built from which entertainment would be provided

·        Not have amplified entertainment which may cause nuisance to the wider area

·        Not have fireworks, pyrotechnics or bonfires on the street

·        Not have alcohol or food sold at the event.

 

            Large event

 

3.4       If the event does not meet the above criteria, then the event will be considered a large event.  This includes all filming events.

 

            Publication of a Legal Notice

 

3.5       The Act requires that the Council must publish a notice in at least one newspaper, circulating in the district, stating that representations may be made in writing to any application for an Order to close a road for a special event.

 

3.6       Members will be aware that the Council has brand guidelines which apply to any advert or notice placed in the press to portray an instantly recognisable visual image for the organisation.

 

3.7       During the Party Briefings there was unanimous agreement on minimising the cost to applicants regarding our requirement to publish a notice in the newspaper.

 

3.8       In light of this Committee may wish to consider adopting the same procedures currently agreed for Entertainments Licence advertising and publish the notice in a local newspaper distributed or sold in the area where the special event is being held. Or, if the special event is being held within the City Centre, then the notice will be advertised in either the Belfast Telegraph, Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland Edition), Irish News or Newsletter (Ulster Edition) on a rotational basis as each new application is received.

 

3.9       Where a special event extends beyond the City Centre to various areas of the City, such as the Belfast Marathon, then it is proposed that the advert is placed in one of the four main newspapers. These proposals would be regardless of the notice being for a large or small event.

 

3.10     To help heighten awareness about any proposed road closure the Notice will also be published on the Council’s website which will benefit from being available over a longer period of time and to a wider audience.

 

3.11     To ensure Members are kept informed, it is also proposed to notify all Councillors directly of any application to close a road for a special event so that your views may be considered prior to making an Order.

 

3.12     Additionally, anyone who applies to close a road will be required to demonstrate that they have notified those in the vicinity regarding the road closure. This should ensure that the views of those most affected by the closure are also taken into account.

 

3.13     If the Committee agrees to adopt the same procedures currently used for Entertainments Licensing, the overall cost including current salary, employee on-costs and advertising expenditure result in the proposed fees:

 

Newspaper used	Fee* for Large event	Fee* for Small event	Location of event
Belfast Telegraph	£1000	£800	City centre
Irish News
Newsletter
Daily Mirror
Andersonstown News	£650	£400	Outside city centre
North Belfast News
South Belfast News
East Belfast and Shankill Mirror

 

            * Fees have been rounded for convenience.

 

            Concessionary fees

 

3.14     Through the Party Briefings concerns were raised about the impact the Act would have on organisers of community based/small scale events who have limited resources and often rely on small levels of Council funding to assist with the holding of their events.

 

3.15     In setting the fees in respect of Entertainments Licence applications the then Department of the Environment had determined that any application for an outdoor licence by a voluntary organisations or charity would benefit from a reduced fee equivalent to 12.5% of the total standard application fee.

 

3.16     A voluntary organisation is defined as an organisation carrying on activities other than for the purpose of gain by the organisation or individual members thereof. This will include community based organisations whose events are organised in pursuit of a general public benefit, when the funds raised from the event, if any, are used for that purpose.

 

3.17     Members may wish to consider setting a similarly reduced fee for voluntary organisations or charities applying for an Order to restrict the use of or close a road for a small scale event.

 

3.18     If Committee were to agree to this concession then, based on the proposed fees at 3.13, the suggested fee for a small event would be:

 

Newspaper	Small event total	Concession fee for small events	Location of event
Belfast Telegraph	£800	£100	City centre
Irish News
Newsletter
Daily Mirror
Andersonstown News	£400	£50	Outside city centre
North Belfast News
South Belfast News
East Belfast and Shankill Mirror

 

3.19     During Party Briefings there was wide support for having no charge applied to small scale events. This is a further option for Members to consider.

 

 

            Deferred actions

 

3.20     Committee deferred consideration to enable Officers to discuss with Athletics NI and other relevant parties the fees which they could potentially be required to pay to allow for road closures for 10k runs and other sporting events.

 

3.21     Officers have met with Mr David Seaton, Chairman and Mr John Allen, General Secretary of Athletics NI and organisers of some of the other running races such as Spar 10k, Laganside 10k, Queens 5k and Belfast marathon.

 

3.22     There was a general preference that running events should still be dealt with as parades, which were facilitated by the PSNI, and meant they paid nothing to hold them on the road. PSNI has advised race organisers that the power now lies with the Councils to deal with these events.

 

3.23     Athletic NI, as the governing body, recognise that the changes, whilst challenging for running clubs, should raise the standard of how running events are organised. It was also accepted that the clear majority of runs on the road already had traffic management plans in place.

 

3.24     During our discussions it became clear that running races fall into two classifications:

 

1.     Commercial events or running races that have a substantial impact on the road network or are within the City centre. Examples, based on current events, would include the Belfast Marathon, ½ Marathon & Craic 10k.

 

2.     Club runs or running races that have minor impact on the road network and are outside the City Centre in a small geographical area. Examples, based on current events, would include Laganside 10k (mostly off road) & Queens 5k. These types of running races are generally organised by voluntary organisations and any profit made from them is used to fund the activities of the club

 

3.25     It has been suggested that classification 1 running races as above, given their impact across the City, be considered a large event in our pricing schedule and classification 2 running races should be considered eligible for the concessionary fees open to voluntary organisations or charities.

 

3.26     Members may also wish to consider if classification 1 running races organised by registered charities for fund raising purposes should be included within the voluntary classification and benefit from the reduced fee equivalent to 12.5% of the total standard application fee.

 

3.27     If so the fees, based on the proposals at 3.13, would be:

 

            Classification 1 Running Races:

            £1000 generally (But a reduced fee of £125 for events organised by registered charities for fund raising purposes).

 

            Classification 2 Running Races: £50.

 

3.28     Members may also wish to include triathlons and cycling races within the definition of a running race.

 

            Financial & Resource Implications

 

3.29     There will be direct financial costs attached to the administration of the Act by the Council and, whilst such costs may be recovered from applicants, decisions in relation to the extent of public notification required and the fee charging option chosen will determine the actual financial implications for the Council.

 

3.30     As we process more Road Closure applications the resources and costs associated with administering the Act will be reviewed annually to ensure that any necessary adjustments to fees may be brought to Committee for further consideration.

 

            Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

3.31     There are no equality or good relations issues associated with this report.”

 

            After discussion, the Committee:

 

1.     Agreed the classification of small local events and large events as set out in paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4 of the report and approved the event criteria, with the caveat that the list was not exhaustive and each application would be considered on a case by case basis:

2.     Approved the advertising  in the newspapers listed in paragraph 3.13 for large events, with the fee for a City centre event being £1000 and for outside the city centre £650;

3.     Approved the advertising listed in paragraph 3.18 for small events, with a zero fee being set for both City centre and outside City centre events;

4.     Agreed to the classification of running races as set out in 3.24 of the report, with the fee for Classification 1 Running Races being £1000 (but a reduced fee of £125 for events run by registered charities for fund raising purposes); and to a zero fee being set for Classification 2 Running Races;

5.     Agreed that triathlon and cycling races be included within the definition of a running race and that the definition of a voluntary organisation be as set out in 3.16 of the report; and

6.     To a review of the resources and costs associated with administering the Act being undertaken after 6 months.