How to organise an event - Allerdale

Details about how to plan, prepare and safely manage an event you are organising.

We are committed to supporting festivals and events in the borough, for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

If you are planning to organise an event in the Allerdale area, you are responsible for the planning, organisation and operation of your event. The following information and links are here to help support and advise organisers of festivals and events to plan, prepare and safely manage their events, ensuring that they have everything in place that needs to be.

Health and Safety

If your event requires safety advice from a number of services such as the police and fire, it may be useful to seek guidance from the Event Advisory Group.

Licensing

A Temporary Event Notice  or a Premises Licence may be needed before your event can go ahead if it includes:

  • Alcohol
  • Live and/or recorded music
  • Performances (including plays/dance/film)
  • Boxing and/or wrestling

Holding an event on council property

If you are planning to hold a festival or event on Cumberland Council property, you will need to complete an event application form, which can be downloaded below.

You need to send this form to us two months prior to the start of your event. A formal agreement will need to be in place before your event can take place. This may incur a charge.

Download the event application form

Road closures

A road closure may be necessary depending on the size and nature of your event. Please allow enough time to apply for your road closure and all costs must be covered by event organisers. 

Find out more information and apply for a Road Closure Order.

Funding

We have funding available to help with your festival. For more information, go to our funding page.

Marketing your event

Active marketing of your festival or event raises awareness of it within your local community or further afield, encouraging people to attend and making your hard work a success.

Activities you may want to consider include:

  • Social media
  • Posters/flyers
  • Press release
  • Event listings - newspapers and online

Contact our events team on 0300 373 3730  if you would like any advice and guidance on how to market your event.

Training Opportunities

If you feel you would benefit from training, the following organisations provide opportunities for organisers of festivals and events:

Institute of Licensing 

Cumbria CVS 

Association of Event Organisers 

Evaluating your event

Evaluation can be useful to provide feedback to your funders and partners, which can ultimately help to justify future funding for events and will assist in planning for future events.

An organistion that may help you to evaluate your festival or event is The Audience Agency.

 

There are lots of other groups and websites which can provide you with information and support in organising your event or festival, including:

If you would like any additional advice, contact our events team on 0300 373 3730.