23
Jan
Royal street party fever looks set to sweep the nation
Royal street party fever looks set to sweep the nation again
this summer as revellers start planning their Queen's Diamond
Jubilee celebrations.
Based on the current groundswell of public interest, it's
expected the number of street parties held over the June weekend,
which also includes the annual Big Lunch, will surpass last year's
total for the Royal Wedding.
Despite still being five months off, councils are already being
inundated with inquiries from residents wanting to mark the
Jubilee, and are pulling out the stops to make organising events as
straightforward as possible. Many are also launching initiatives to
support their communities such as waiving road closures fees,
offering cash grants and giving out party packs.
Last year councils across England and Wales received about 5,500
road closure applications for Royal Wedding street parties.
Countless other celebrations also took place in gardens, on
pavements, in pubs, parks and village greens, and many councils
laid on their own parties for residents.
Councillor Chris White, Chair of the Local Government
Association's Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said:
"Councils are already receiving hundreds of inquiries from
residents wanting to hold Jubilee street parties. There was a lot
of interest last year for the Royal Wedding but it wasn't until
much nearer the event. It really seems as if Britain's street party
tradition has been well and truly resurrected and people are
already planning to dust down their fold-out tables and unpack the
bunting.
"Bringing communities together is something councils see as one
of their key roles and, as they did for the Royal Wedding, they're
pulling out all the stops to make organising street parties as easy
as possible. Straightforward guidance is readily available from
council offices and online, along with simple application forms.
Many councils have waived road closure and insurance fees where
possible, and others are giving out grants to support communities
in marking the special occasion.
"It's fantastic that Jubilee weekend looks set to be a great few
days with people everywhere coming together to enjoy a good old
knees-up. There will of course be cases where a genuine concern
means a proposed celebration may not be able to go ahead, but
through common sense and talking to each other councils and
residents should be able to find amicable solutions to make a
street party happen."
The LGA has been working with councils and their communities to
find any bureaucratic sticking points which may still exist in
event-organising and ways of overcoming them. In March it's
launching an online forum where councils can share experiences and
ideas and community groups can raise any issues they've come across
locally. A DirectGov website has also been launched this year where
residents can enter their postcode and be directed straight to
their local council's website to find advice on holding a street
party in their neighbourhood.
Please see link below for general guidance and a Q&A on
street parties, as well as a link to the DirectGov site
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/streetpartyguide
For this and other property related articles visit www.propertytalklive.co.uk