· All events which take place in Sheffield City Centre shall bring benefits to existing businesses and the public, and cause minimal disruption.
· All events will be subject to advance booking and suitability assessment by the Event Organiser subject to an approval by Sheffield City Council (“the Council”). It will include commercial and other promotions and charitable or public activities.
· All events shall aim to improve the vitality and viability of the Sheffield City Centre.
· Use of Sheffield City Centre spaces will normally be considered by the Council / City Centre Management (“CCM”) on a first come first served basis provided that the event meets the standard criteria.
· The specific area for the promotion will be determined by the Council / CCM in consultation with other relevant departments as appropriate.
· The nature of each event shall under no circumstances adversely affect pedestrian flows, public safety, the general environment or the interests of surrounding businesses services or residents. Promotion structures which are considered by the Council / CCM (acting reasonably) to be too large for the site and location will not be allowed to display.
· The Event Organiser must procure that they and their events are fully in compliance with all relevant legislation including health and safety, environmental health, highways, and the Licensing Act 2003 (please contact Licensing General on 0114 2734264 or email licensingservice@sheffield.gov.uk). They will provide the Council / CCM with all necessary documentation including copy of their public liability insurance policy as soon as they are reasonably practicable to do so and in any event no later than 7 days prior to the start of the event. A risk assessment may be required for each event.
· Where applicable, the Event Organiser must fully comply with the requirements of the Police, emergency services and other key consultees as appropriate before, during and after the event.
· Direct selling of goods and services will not be permitted unless the nature of the event is market related and it is approved by the Council.
· The Event Organiser must fully comply with the Conditions of Permission (see attached) and also all reasonable instructions from Sheffield City Council / CCM.
· Each application for permission to hold an event in Sheffield City Centre spaces will be considered in its own merit. Previous use of Sheffield City Centre spaces by the Event Organiser does not guarantee that they may get future permission granted by the Council / CCM.
· The Council / CCM reserves:
- the right to reject any application should they consider the Event not suitable; and also
- the right to cancel the decision to permit the Event Organiser to hold any Event in Sheffield City Centre should the Event Organiser be found in any material breach of this Spaces Policy or the Conditions of Permission to hold an event in Sheffield City Centre Space.
Conditions of Permission for the Use of Sheffield City Centre Spaces (“Conditions”)
Exclusions: Sheffield City Council (the Council) / CCM do not permit any promotion of tobacco, political matters, or products of a harmful, undesirable, offensive and objectionable nature. Sheffield City Council / CCM reserve the right to refuse to grant or cancel Permission to any organisation/body for promotion, or an event of anything whatsoever which it considers offensive and/or detrimental to Council policy.
1. Free passage is to be maintained for pedestrians, including spectators, in front of shop premises at all times and free access for emergency vehicles. There should be no contravention of Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, relating to the unlawful obstruction of the highway. You are requested to ensure that members of the public are able to pass each side of the pedestrian area without inconvenience and that no entrances to shop premises are obstructed even if this involves using members of your party to act as stewards to ensure there is no obstruction caused.
2. Direct sales of articles are not permitted, unless the nature of the event is market related. Where a promotion involves the distribution of free samples these must be dry and non-alcoholic.
3. In the event of permission being given for a vehicle to be used for an event, a drip tray MUST be used to ensure that there is no oil spillage from the vehicle onto the paved area. The event organiser will pay for the cost of the removal of, and remediation of, any fuel spillages or oil marks.
4. Activities on grassed areas: The grass must be protected from damage by vehicles or foot traffic by boarding or other suitable tracking. After the event, the Event Organiser must reinstate any damage to the area resulting from their activities. If the Event Organiser fails to satisfactorily reinstate the area, the Council is entitled to demand the Event Organiser to pay for all the costs for repairing the damage. A £500 deposit may be required from the Event Organiser prior to the event and such deposit will be taken off the overall fees to use the Sheffield City Centre site.
5. Generators must be diesel powered and ultra-silent, or with a noise output not above background/ ambient level and cordoned off from public view/ access. In the event of fuel leakage, cleaning will be charged to the event organiser.
6. All cables must be adequately tested and covered or flown well above head height.
7. Necessary firefighting equipment must be provided and be readily available.
8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Sheffield City Centre Spaces Policy and also this Conditions, the Event Organiser is responsible for any and all omissions, wrongdoing or negligent behaviour of their employees and/or other people involved in the event (such as volunteers, workers, agents, officers) (“Event Organiser’s Staff”) and shall procure that they shall all comply with this Conditions for Permission.
9. The Event Organiser shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the noise from the event site does not cause unreasonable disturbance or annoyance to proprietors, users of neighbouring shops, offices or residents. If a complaint is received, immediate corrective action must be taken. No loudspeakers shall be used for the purposes of direct advertising. It is an offence under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to directly advertise a product or service using a loudspeaker.
10. For any event involving live or recorded music and/or the sale and consumption of alcohol the Event Organiser must ensure that relevant Premises Licence is in place. This can either be provided by the City Council at their discretion or through a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). Please note that specific conditions will apply to both licenses which are outside the scope of this document.
11. If music, live or taped, is to be played during the event, the Event Organiser may need a music licence from PPL PRS Limited. PPL PRS Limited is a joint venture between the Performing Rights Society (PRS) and Phonographic Performance Ltd (PP Ltd). You should check if a licence needs to be obtained for your event at the following website: Get Your Licence.
12. For any event or promotion, the operating hours are from 8.00am – 6.00pm, and for larger outdoor events the curfew for all sites is as follows:
• 10.00am – 10.00pm, Monday to Saturday, other than:
Fargate:
• 1.00pm – 10.00pm, Saturday
Peace Gardens:
• 10.00am – 9.00pm, Sunday
All timings are at the discretion of the City Council and must be requested and agreed on application.
13. The Event Organiser shall comply with any request from an authorised officer of the Council/Police Officer or City Centre Ambassador to reduce noise from the event site in order to reduce disturbance or annoyance following a complaint.
14. Members of the public must not be importuned in any way by Event Organiser’s Staff. Complaints of such will be recorded, stating the times and nature of the incident. If the Council consider in their reasonable opinion that the complaint is justified, any future application for holding an event in Sheffield City Centre will be automatically rejected by the Council. In the case of multiple applications by such Event Organiser, any of their outstanding applications will be automatically withdrawn.
15. The Event Organiser must take out and maintain sufficient and suitable Public Liability Insurance policy of at least £5m or £10m (if the activity involves children) per each and every claim. The Event Organiser agrees to indemnify and keep the Council indemnified against any claim arising out of or in connection with the event and/or the Permission as outlined in the Event Organiser’s application form, including but not limited to any damage to paving, street furniture, trees due to the event; and also a third party’s claim against the Council as a result of any acts, omissions or wrongdoing of the Event Organiser (including its Event Organiser’s Staff) before, during or after the event .
16. Each Event Organiser must submit their details of the Public Liability insurance cover to the Council/CCM on application or at least 7 days BEFORE the event takes place.
17. Use of ’A’ Boards to publicise your activity is not permitted, unless within a cordoned off area of the event. The use of banners must be restricted to the immediate vicinity of the event and should not be sited in flowerbeds, on seats provided for the public use, affixed to any street furniture or any other location which would inconvenience the public. All litter and waste resulting from the activity must be cleared from the area each day during the event (including discarded leaflets/publicity materials handed out to the public). If the Event Organiser fails to comply with this clause 17, the Council is entitled to charge the Event Organiser any additional costs incurred as a result of clearing the litter and waste from the event.
18. Leaflets/publicity material must only be handed out in the immediate vicinity of the promotion. The Cleansing Service will report any excess litter left by user groups and future permission for use of pedestrian areas may be refused. It is not permitted to hand out material such as ‘stickers’ which could be misused by members of the general public.
19. As the applicant for the use of the pedestrian area, all Event Organisers are requested to ensure that they (or a named representative) are present during the event and they will be held personally responsible for any offence e.g. obstruction which may be committed as a direct result of the presence of your group on the pedestrian area.
20. The Police / City Centre Ambassadors may ask Event Organiser or their group to leave the pedestrian area and move on to other suitable places if they are unable to provide proof of authorisation.
21. It is always the responsibility of the Event Organiser to obtain all necessary consents and permits required prior to the commencement of the event. For advice on Street Collection permits and events covered by the Licensing Act 2003, please contact Licensing on 0114 2734264 or email licensingservice@sheffield.gov.uk
22. In Sheffield City Centre spaces, there are no parking spaces onsite for vehicles. Permits may be obtained for on-street metered parking bays at extra costs to the Event Organiser by emailing parkingservices@sheffield.gov.uk or by telephone on 0114 273 6158.
23. Event Organiser must ensure that their events /entertainment will be carried out in a safe and responsible manner and will not place the public at any risk of injury.
24. Stock vehicles are not allowed on the pedestrian areas – except if given specific permission for branded vehicles as part of an event. Please note that you can only access Fargate to unload before 10.00am and load for departure after 6.00pm, and Barker’s Pool / Howard Street before 8.30am and departure after 5.30pm. Failure to comply could result in action being taken by the Police and/or Parking Services.
25. Subject to clause 30, the Council reserves the right to cancel the Permission with immediate effect in any of the following events:
· If the Event Organiser (including any of its Event Participants) is in breach of the Policy or the Conditions; or
· If the Space is used for any other purposes other than that stated in the application form approved by the Council; or
· If any or all parts of the event are considered by the Council, in its reasonable opinion, to be dangerous, offensive, noxious, illegal or immoral or may become a nuisance to the Council or any other occupiers in the areas (or any neighbouring property) where the event is held; or
· If clause 29 applies.
26. The Event Organiser acknowledges and agrees that it will be fully responsible and liable to the Fees and no refund of the Fee will be arranged unless the cancellation arrangement set out in this clause may apply. All cancellations must be in writing to the Council by email or by post as soon as possible. Contact details of the Council can be found at the end of the Conditions. Cancellation may result in additional charges being due and payable by the Event Organiser as follows:
· if the Event Organiser’s cancellation notice is received by the Council in 31 calendar days or more prior to the proposed start date of the event according to the application form, the Event Organisation will be responsible and liable for 50% of the Fee. If the Event Organiser has already paid the full Fee upfront, a 50% of the Fee will be forfeit by the Council.
· if the Event Organiser’s cancellation notice is received by the Council in 30 calendar days or less prior to the proposed start date of the event as outlined in the application form, then the Event Organiser will be responsible and liable for 100% of the Fee. If the Event Organiser has already paid the Fees upfront, then the full amount of it will be forfeit.
27. The Fee must be paid for by the Event Organiser in full and in a clear fund immediately on application (if the proposed state date of the event is within 3 weeks) OR within 3 weeks from the date of application (whichever is applicable) by any of the following methods:
· Online payment by card (a link will be send by email on approval of the application).
· Over the telephone by card (using the Council’s automated Call Secure system)
· Invoice (if the Permission is granted 8 weeks in advance of the event date).
28. Spaces can only be held provisionally for a maximum of three weeks from the date of application by the Event Organiser. If the Event Organiser fails to settle the Fee in accordance with clause 27, the Permission will be cancelled by the Council automatically without any further notice and clause 30 will apply.
29. Subject to clause 30, the Event Organiser acknowledges and agrees that the Council is entitled to cancel the Permission or require the Event Organiser to relocate or postpone the proposed event in the case of:
· adverse weather; or
· any other circumstances out of the Council’s reasonable control.
30. The Council shall under no circumstances be liable for any losses and/or costs incurred by the Event Organiser as a result of the cancellation outlined in clauses 25, 28 and 29. In any event, the Council’s total liability to the Event Organiser (including the Event Organiser’s Participants), whether in contract, tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, arising under or in connection with the Permission shall be limited to the total amount of the Fee payable by the Event Organiser for the Permission.