Organise a street party
If you are planning on organising a street party, you can do so by notifying the council of a temporary street closure to hold your party.
How to apply to have a street party
Fill in our online form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes
Paperclip If you need to close a road you must:
- consult the bus operator (West Yorkshire Combined Authority - WYCA). They will confirm if a closure will affect a bus route.
- consult with the Police.
You can attach forward emails from them to tma.permits@kirklees.gov.uk
Apply to have a street partyAfter you've applied
- We send details of the event to the Fire Service and Ambulance Service.
- If the event involves a road closure, Legal Services discuss that with ward councillors.
- If it is agreed upon, we approve the road closure order and distribute copies and this could take up to 2 weeks from when Legal Services receive a completed application from Highway.
Contact details for organisations
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Email neil.waterworth@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
- The Police
- Email amanda.simpson@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
- Email xa.fpu@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Planning your street party
Plan early - get in touch with the council at least 6 weeks in advance.
Involve everyone - send early invitations to everyone in the street, including businesses so that they know what's going on.
You must talk to your neighbours and all local businesses affected by the proposed event and road closure, and deal with any objections prior to submitting their road closure application. If the council receives objections once an application has been received or has made the road closure order, objections will need to be dealt with by the organiser.
You need to get permission from the council. Fill in the form to request permission.
We will usually only approve closure where a signed diversion route is not required.
Road closures for national events like the King's Coronation are free.
Cul-de-sacs and 'no through routes'
We will allow closures on cul-de-sacs and 'no through routes' as long as any objections have been resolved by the organisers.
When approved, the organisers must place a red and white 'Road Closed' sign and cones across the width of the closed road.
Through routes
We only allow a closure would where a suitable diversion is available.
Additional signage is required. Organisers are recommended to employ a traffic management company.
If a road is also a bus route, more detailed consultation with the council, bus operators and police is needed to assess if a closure could be allowed.
Classified roads and roads designated by the council as 'strategic' or 'traffic sensitive'
Closures are unlikely to be approved.
Access to a closed road
Please ensure that a competent person is allocated to marshal each closure point
Emergency services must be able to get through so suitable clear access must be maintained or be easily achievable if required. Please ensure that marshals at the closure points are aware of this.
Disabled drivers must be given access to any disabled parking bays.
There must be unobstructed access for pedestrians and wheelchair users at all times.
Residents who do not wish to be involved cannot be refused vehicle access to their property.
If it is bin collection day, make sure your bin is in an accessible place for the refuse lorries.
Access to fire hydrants or other manholes must not be blocked and any obstructions should be easily removable in case emergency use is required.
Signs and barriers required for a temporary road closure must comply with Chapter 8 of the Traffic signs manual .
The use of wheely bins to create a barrier for the closure can be used in addition to Chapter 8 signage and reflective traffic cones.
Signs and barriers you can borrow
The council has a limited number of these available for closing roads.
There is no charge to borrow them but you need to leave a deposit for any items borrowed.
Deposits must be paid in cash. We cannot accept cards.
Item | Maximum amount | Deposit |
---|---|---|
Cones | 25 | £5 per cone |
Road Closed signs | 2 | £30 per sign |
Barriers | 4 | £25 per barrier |
Sandbags | 20 sandbags | £2.50 per sandbag. |
Arrange to borrow items
- Contact Denise Vincent:
- Email denise.vincent@kirklees.gov.uk
- Phone 01484 221000 extension 74457
- Arrange to collect the items from the highway depots at either Honley or Liversedge. Please be aware that both depots are operational depots.
- Address Honley Depot, Huddersfield Road, Honley, HD9 6LN
- Address Liversedge Depot, Headlands Road, Liversedge, WF15 7NT
- Return the items to the depot to be refunded your deposit.
If you need more items than we can lend then you
Contact a traffic management or hire company. Contact details for some local traffic management or hire companies include:
- 2Works, Cleckheaton Phone 0845 222 1222
- Speedy Hire, Huddersfield Phone 01484 513778
- Streetwise, Birstall Phone 01924 444824
- Centurion, Leeds Phone 0113 277 5360
- HSS Hire, Huddersfield Phone 01484 514395
Typical signage for temporary road closures
Road closed
Place a road closed sign at each point of closure.
Road ahead closed
If a road closure starts or finishes at a point which isn't a junction with another road, then a road ahead closed sign should be placed at the previous junction.
Diverted traffic
If traffic needs to be diverted, put diverted traffic signs along its entire length. The arrows should point out where the diversion goes.
Diversion
Put this diversion sign at the closure start point.
Diversion ends
Put this diversion ends sign at the closure end point.
A temporary event notice is needed if you plan to sell alcohol.
Apply for a temporary event notice
Fill in our simple form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes
Guidance notes for filling in the form are at the end.
Apply for a temporary event noticeAfter you've applied
You should keep a copy of the completed notice for your records.
You must send at least one copy of this notice to the licensing authority and additional copies must be sent to the chief officer of police and the local authority, exercising environmental health functions for the area in which the premises are situated.
Food can be served and sold up to 11pm without a licence.
A music licence isn't needed as long as:
- your street party is a private party for residents
- the music has not been advertised in advance to attract people or make money
- your music is not too loud and finishes before 11pm.
Raffles don't require a licence as long as tickets are sold on the day of the draw.
Insurance
The council strongly recommends getting insurance cover. Large scale events and events open to the wider public may require insurance as for the council to give approval.
A risk assessment, even for a small event like a street party, is a good idea. If possible, have someone who is trained in first aid there on the day.
You need to plan:
- seating - ask everyone to bring chairs and think about areas where children can sit
- food - get everyone to bring food to share at set times so you can all eat together
- decorations - you can buy, hire, or make your own
- games - think about games people of all ages will enjoy
- music - remember it should not be too loud and turn it off well before 11pm
Regarding food provision, registration with the council's Environmental Health department is not required if your event is a one-off. However it is still really important that food provided is safe to eat.
Consider the 4 C's of cleaning, chilling, cooking and avoiding cross contamination when planning your event, it will go a long way to ensuring that food is provided safely.
- Ensure that you have an antibacterial sanitiser product available and that you use it to disinfect surfaces that food is prepared or served on.
- Ensure that any foods that require cooking are thoroughly heated until piping hot throughout. Serve quickly whilst still hot and ensure it is consumed within 2 hours.
- Ensure that foods that need to be chilled, including sandwich fillings and any cheese or cream in cakes, are kept cold until the time they are ready to be served. Do not leave foods that need to be chilled out of the fridge or on display in buffets for longer than 4 hours. After this time any remaining food should be discarded.
- Ensure that plenty of clean serving tongs and spoons are available for any foods that are served in a sharing platter or buffet and provide hand sanitiser at the table.
- Consider what allergens are in the food you are preparing and how this will be communicated to your guests.
A full guide for keeping food safe at community events is provided by the Food Standards Agency.
Bunting and decorations
It is the organiser's responsibility to put up, look after and take down bunting after the street party has taken place so it isn't a risk to people using the area. Here is some guidance to help you:
- Tie bunting to steel lights or trees. Do not tie it to concrete street lights as they are old and we cannot guarantee the condition of them all.
- Tie it with string so it can easily be removed in an emergency.
- If across a closed road, it must be at least 6 metres (20 feet) high but do not climb up or lean a ladder against a streetlight.
Clearing up
Event organisers are responsible for clearing up after the event.
More information
Street party or large public event
Dependent on the event in which you are organising, there are differences between whether it is a street party or a large public event.
Street party | Large public event | |
---|---|---|
Who the event is for | Residents and neighbours only | Open to anyone to attend |
Publicity | To residents only | Externally, for instance in newspapers |
Temporary event notice | Not required (unless it is intended to sell alcohol and/or have certain types of entertainment) | Usually needed |
Insurance | Public liability insurance is optional | Required |
Risk assessment | Should be carried out | Must be carried out |
Organisation | Self organised by residents | Best left to professional event planners |