Event guidance
This section of the website will help organisers run events safely.
Good planning and organisation is essential to putting on an event that is both safe and enjoyable.
Please explore this A – Z to support your event application, we have tried to link sections together to help you find the information you need.
You will also find links to appropriate pages on the Health and Safety Executive website.
A
| Drivers must: - Obey the 5mph speed limits - Hazard warning lights to be switched on - Keep to designated roadways - Do not travel onto grass areas/verges - Do not cut corners | Bollard Entry: - Drivers must NOT follow the vehicle in front - The bollard will quickly come up after One vehicle has cleared the system - No tail gating is permitted | Exit: - Wait for the green light - Left turn only to exit the park |
Registered address: Bute Park, Visitor Centre, 35 North Rd, Cardiff, CF10 3DX (Tel: 02920 872730)
Vehicle Access Bridge, Bute Park - CF10 3DU (Access off North Road (A470) / Corbett Road)
- Coopers Field, Bute Park
- Cardiff Castle Access via Coopers Field, Bute Park
- Orchard Lawn, Bute Park
- Blackweir Sports Pitches, Bute Park
- Sophia Gardens - CF11 9HW. Access via Sophia Close, off Cathedral Road (A4119)
You will need to make arrangements for access to your event site.
Small events
The Event Organiser is required to make arrangements to collect (and return) keys/swipe cards in advance of your event from the Visitor Centre:
- Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
- Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 3pm
- Meet the Bute Park Ranger on site (by agreement in advance)
Large events
The Event Organiser is required to meet the Site Supervisor on site 1hr before the first planned activity for a pre-event site inspection and to complete a Handover Meeting. Please include this appointment in your Production and Vehicle Schedule.
A Handback Meeting should also be scheduled on your last day on site following the final collections.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/access/This applies to all events and includes those where tickets sold include provision of alcohol, provision of alcohol in exchange for money or where alcohol is provided free of charge.
Please refer to the details of the site’s standard Premises licence given in Licensable Activity if you plan to provide alcohol served from a bar or from an exhibitor in off-sales containers such as bottles etc.
You as the Event Organiser are responsible for confirming the licence conditions that will apply to your specific event and ensuring all licence conditions are strictly adhered to.
You may be visited by an officer of the Council or one appointed for the duration of the event to ensure the terms and conditions of the licence are upheld. The charge for the licensing visits is based on a 4hr minimum call out and the weekend rate is £24/hr +VAT.
Please submit all paperwork to the applicable Cardiff Council’s Event Officer in the first instance via butepark@cardiff.gov.uk
Premises Licence / Vary Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS)
Our premises Bute Park / Sophia Gardens have a Premises Licence. However, there is no appointed official Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) named on the licence and therefore it is not possible to sell alcohol on site. In order to serve alcohol on site, an event organiser must propose a DPS.
The DPS must be a suitably qualified (personal licence holder) and have sufficient accountability/responsibility over event management to ensure that the four licencing objectives and licence conditions are addressed (Bute Park / Sophia Gardens). This may require final decision-making responsibility over wider matters, e.g. entertainment running times, security and the ability to make decisions on site at the event.
This means it is not necessarily appropriate that the DPS simply be the bar operator. We would look to your event command and control structure to satisfy ourselves that the proposed individual can effectively perform the duty before agreeing to accept your proposed DPS.
Operating Schedule/Operational Plan
The Event Liaison Panel (ELP) will look for assurances that an appropriate DPS has been achieved so please make that part of your presentation to them.
Our licence requires that an Operating Schedule/Operational Plan be submitted to ELP and South Wales Police (SWP) Licencing no less than 56 days prior to the event.
The licence will be passed on to SWP Licencing and the Council’s Licencing Team by Cardiff Council as the Premises Licence holder.
If SWP receive the operating schedule later than 56 days prior, then conditions may be imposed. These would be confirmed in writing by SWP within 10 days of receiving notification of the event.
Complete and return the “Operational Plan – Template 2022 v3”
Vary Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS)
Each time our premises has an event where alcohol will be sold, an application needs to be submitted to butepark@cardiff.gov.uk by the event organiser to vary the DPS at least 14 days prior to the event, but the sooner the better.
The fee to amend the DPS will be paid by Bute Park, this is inclusive within your hire fee. We have an arrangement internally with the Licencing Team.
Please complete
a. “Bute Park DPS Consent Form”
b. Application to vary the DPS form
This application must be submitted together with a consent form signed by the proposed DPS.
The approved DPS will also need to remove themselves after the event from the Premises License (Request to be removed as designated premises supervisor from City of Cardiff Council (www.gov.uk) ) or they will remain as DPS ongoing.
Contact Events Liaison Panel
See ELP
See Trading Standards
If your event is proposed to feature animals you will need to consider specific issues around animal welfare and public health protection.
Details of any animal petting/handling attractions should be covered in your event risk assessment. Suitable hand wash facilities must be provided.
Please ensue any owner/handlers comply with requirements of the Animal Welfare Act of 2006. The generic e-mail for communicable disease inquiries is surveillance.requests@wales.nhs.uk
No stalls are allowed to provide pets (goldfish etc) to sell or be given as a prize.
Contact Events Liaison Panel
See Trading Standards
Some of the event sites are in archaeologically sensitive areas e.g. within the southern part of Bute Park.
You should cite the location of any flag poles and festoon lighting etc on your Site Plan to be agreed in advance.
Please consult the Park Event Manager if you are proposing any excavations in relation to your event. Permission for excavations must be given in advance by the Park Event Manager (it will not be appropriate to ask the Site Supervisor this) and may require an archaeological watching brief. This can be arranged as long as sufficient notice is given.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/archaeology/B
We can grant permission to erect temporary banners (or advertising signs) for certain events.
Temporary banners can be displayed announcing local events of charitable, cultural, educational, political, social, recreational or religious nature.
Temporary banners for commercial events require advertising consent, which can be obtained from the Local Planning Authority, via their standard application process.
Only events being held in Bute Park or Sophia Gardens can be accepted.
The Event Organiser must ensure that all advertising material complies with the planning guidance on temporary advertisements:
- All banners must be bilingual in accordance with the Council’s Welsh language policy.
- Banners must not be put up earlier than 28 days before the event
- Banners are permitted for a maximum of 4 weeks.
- Banners must be removed within 24 hours of the end of the event
- Banners must not be illuminated
- Banners must include your brand identity and contact details
- Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis and not all requests can be accommodated.
Banners Size
We require all banners to be bilingual under the Welsh Language Act so we permit either:
- Two banners of up to 0.6m2 side by side (one Welsh and one English)
Or
- One single bilingual banner at up to 1.2m2.
Banner Locations:
Can I put up banners in other parks?
Please request permission to erect banners at other Cardiff Parks via the Bute Park Event Officer. Not all requests can be accommodated. Failure to request permission in advance may result in the removal of said banners and advertising by Cardiff Council.
Can I put up banners around the city?
Please request permission to erect banners on highways from the Highways Team. Failure to request permission in advance may result in the removal of said banners and advertising by Cardiff Council.
Failure to comply
Failure to request permission in advance may result in the removal of said banners and advertising by Cardiff Council.
No signs or banners shall be erected for the advertising of any event or commercial concern or activity taking place outside of the park.
Failure to comply with the removal of banners and advertising in the specified period shall result in the immediate removal of said banners and advertising by Cardiff Council. In this instance the Council withholds the right to levy a minimum charge of £100 + VAT to the Event Organiser.
No fly posters or stickers shall be attached to any part of the fabric of the Park. The Event Organiser shall be responsible for all costs incurred for the removal of any fly posters or stickers, which can be directly attributed to his event.
See Bilingual Cardiff
See Marketing
See The City of Cardiff Council Welsh Language Standards: Guide to Third Parties
See The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992: 3D - Miscellaneous temporary advertisements
See Website Listing
See Welsh
Barriers and fencing must be fit for purpose and able to withstand the applied loading whether from wind or crowd.
Where pressure from an audience is expected e.g. in front of the stage at pop concerts, a properly constructed front of stage barrier will be required.
See Temporary Demountable Structures
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/barriers-fencing/The Blackweir Fields are regularly used for cricket and football and this must be considered when being used as an event site. Rugby and football are played here in the winter season, and cricket in the summer. These are identified on the event area base plan. Therefore there is only limited availability for event use in this location.
The paths adjacent to this area are not suitable for significant vehicle loading.
The event space can be used for:
- Events
- Community events
- Fireworks
- Sporting tournaments
| Location | Google Map |
| Size | 21,000 sqm |
| Hire Fee | Upon Request |
| Premises Licence | Covered by the Bute Park Premises Licence |
| On-site power supply | None |
| On-site water supply | None |
| Sewerage | None |
| Toilets | Blackweir Changing room facilities can be made available for staff and volunteers and for small events. By arrangement in advance. Charges apply. |
| Phone/ISDN lines | None |
| Data Connection | None |
Other Considerations
| Sports Pitches | Event use is by arrangement only. |
Conflicts with other city centre events/venues
Before completing your event application, we would recommend that you as Event Organiser research key events in the city which may
have an impact on your event.
Large city events could affect availability of and access to your preferred venue. Events in Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Cricket Stadium) and Cardiff City FC will particularly affect Coopers Field and Sophia Gardens. The Visit Cardiff website has a search facility which you can find out all indoor and outdoor events which are scheduled on a specific date.
If your event is likely to generate significant crowds, noise or disruption it would also be courteous for you to notify adjacent venue and local
residents including the and newly developed offices and residences on Cathedral Rd.
- Blackweir Ambulance Station
- Blackweir cottages
Access to site
| Pedestrian Access | The closest park entrances to this site are: - Blackweir Cottages (from North Road carpark – not suitable for large numbers) - Blackweir Bridge (from the north) - Fisher’s Bridge (from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, east) - Millennium Bridge (from Sophia Gardens, west) |
| Vehicle/Load Restrictions | Vehicle access into the site is via the vehicle bridge off North Rd, located opposite Corbett Rd. The vehicle bridge has a weight limit of 40 tonnes. The vehicle bridge narrows to a single lane as it crosses the Dock Feeder Canal so traffic entering and exiting must be carefully managed, making use of passing bays along the main event service road to the south. The vehicle bridge has an automatic bollard in operation to prevent unauthorised entry of vehicles in to Bute Park. You may therefore need to request loan of a set of ‘swipe cards’ so you can manage traffic in relation to your event. This request can be included on your application form. Please see for guidance on safe use of the bollard control system. Stewards/ banksmen will be essential to safely manage your traffic. These should be in radio contact with each other and following strict procedures to protect the fabric of the park and other park users. There is very limited space in which event vehicles can be turned and unloaded. Operations should be planned and coordinated to ensure that event traffic on site is limited. Failure to do this may unnecessarily damage the grass and leave you liable for reinstatement costs. Protective aluminium or plastic trackway must be used for access onto the grass for vehicles with a payload exceeding five tonnes. Ground protection (track mats, pedestrian barriers or iron bars/hazard tape) should be deployed in vulnerable areas to prevent damage caused by event vehicles over running the paths. There are certain ‘no go’ areas adjacent to the event site and these must be physically protected from potential damage from your event, see site plan for guidance [champion tree, tree canopies generally, cricket squares etc] Bute Park holds a stock of ‘event mode’ signage to help manage event traffic when volumes are significant. |
Advice for risk assessment and CDM planning
- There is an automatic bollard control system at the Bute Park Vehicle Access Bridge. A guidance note is available on its safe operation.
- There is a 5 mph vehicle speed limit within the park.
- Vehicles cannot make a right hand turn into or out of the park at the vehicle bridge.
- A designated cycle route crosses the vehicle access bridge at the entrance to the park – this impacts on vehicle right-of-way when entering and exiting the park. Event organisers should consider the benefit of additional traffic management staff to support vehicles entering and exiting the park across the designated cycle route.
- A designated cycle route crosses the park between the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Millennium Footbridge, this crosses the main vehicle access to the park.
- The park can be busy. It is used by pedestrians, cyclists and other operational vehicles. These may share paths and roads with my event audience and vehicles.
- Some cyclists are known to exceed the speed limit and can be a hazard to event traffic.
- In wet weather the ground can get very soft and water may stand on the surface of roads and grass.
- The park is locked at night (approx. 30 minutes before sunset) though people are known to choose to get locked in or come in after locking via unofficial routes.
- There is the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour as may be expected in any city-centre park.
- The park is unlit and very dark after sunset.
- The wider park outside the event site is patrolled by a ranger service within daylight hours. They wear a red uniform and are based out of the Visitor Centre Building located in the centre of the park. The rangers work to a rota system but there are times when there are no rangers on duty. If you need to contact a ranger, the call should go via the Park Manager in the first instance.
- Crimes, emergencies or incidents witnessed in the wider park by event staff should be called directly to 999, 101 (non-emergency police number) or the Park Management office 02920 873720 depending on their nature.
- There are regularly used sports pitches within this event site. These are identified on the event area base plan. You should take care to avoid the areas marked as the cricket squares.
- Should you require any of the football goals or rugby posts to be removed for your event this must be arranged with the Park Management in good time.
- You must notify and seek permission from the Park Management office to break any ground.
- There are no existing welfare facilities on site for event staff. Toilets located at park cafes are only available for light use by event staff/participants.
- Blackweir Changing room facilities can be made available for staff and volunteers and for small events – by arrangement in advance.
- The site is adjacent to the Cardiff Ambulance Station. No access to the site is permitted via the ambulance station.
- Participants should be discouraged from entering your event site directly via the ambulance station – they should be directed from the carpark through the entrance past Blackweir Cottages and from the park.
- The site is the alternative landing site for emergency services Wales Air Ambulance helicopter and military helicopters. Please notify the HEMS Desk of your event dates via 0300 1232301.
Bollard remains in “normal operation” and individual vehicles are swiped through by an authorised proximity card holder.
- Steward is positioned at the indicator column on the right-hand side of the bridge
- Entering vehicles proceeds towards the steward.
- Steward identifies driver, briefs them on key site information and give directions.
- Steward presents proximity card to card reader.
- Driver looks for green light on indicator column.
- Vehicle proceeds into park.
- Only One Vehicle’ can proceed each time the card is presented
- Drivers must NOT follow the vehicle in front.
- The bollard will quickly come up after one vehicle has cleared the system.
- No tail gating is permitted.
- Failure to comply may result in damage to vehicle.
key site information:
- Obey the 5mph speed limits
- Hazard warning lights to be switched on
- Keep to designated roadways
- Do not travel onto grass areas/verges
- Do not cut corners Bollard Entry:
- Drivers must NOT follow the vehicle in front
- No tail gating is permitted
Exit:
- Divers approach indicator column slowly (giving way to pedestrians and cyclists).
- Bollard will lower automatically.
- Wait for the green light.
- Left turn only to exit the park.
- Failure to comply may result in damage to vehicle.
For more detailed information on use of the bollard operation system check the link in your Conditions of Hire Letter
In advance of your event you should develop procedures to be followed by staff and volunteers in case of a park-related incident.
Should a bollard strike occur you must report this to the Bute Park Team immediately with photographs so the situation can be escalated if necessary.
A guide is available for safe operation of the Bute Park Bollard
Please complete an incident report, it is essential that the following information is recorded:
- Date
- Time
- Name of person recording the incident
- Name of driver
- Name of company
- Driver/Company address
- Mobile number driver
- Company contact number
- Make and model of vehicle
- Registration number
- Name of insurance company
- Take photos showing the damage to the bollard and vehicle
- Please provide contact details for any eye witnesses.
Note: There is a minimum £100+VAT admin fee following a bollard strike. Minimum call out cost for inspection approx £500+VAT. An invoice for recoverable costs will be raised to cover any repair work and call out charges.
Incidents should be reported to Bute Park staff as soon as possible: butepark@cardiff.gov.uk
See Contact the Park
See Incident Report Form
See Spill Response
A bond will be determined based on detail provided in your event application. See site-specific guidance on charges.
A refundable bond (VAT exempt) will be required to insure the Council against any unplanned costs incurred as a result of your event. This would include damage to the site, additional staff costs due to failure of the event organiser and fines in accordance with the guidance provided.
In most cases, the Council will take a risk on reasonable wear and tear of the site i.e. that which can be remediated as part of our planned cyclical grounds maintenance. You are responsible for planning and managing your event in such a way that minimises damage to the site, and agreeing a ground protection plan with the Park Event Manager.
Wet weather contingencies are the responsibility of the event organiser and the Park Event Manager withholds the right to close all or part of the site if effective wet weather contingencies are not in place when required. The Park Manager will make a decision based on risks to public safety and financial risks to the Council resulting from likely damage to the venue.
Your invoice for bond payment must be cleared in our account prior to your event date. If you fail to pay your bond Cardiff Council reserves the right to deny your access onto site.
If your event incurs costs to Cardiff Council these will be deducted from your bond and the balance will be refunded. For any amounts over and above the amount held in your bond we will send an additional invoice to cover the difference.
See Bollard Strike
See Ground Protection
See Litter
See Power
See Site Supervisor
See Temporary Demountable Structures
C
Cardiff Council accepts no liability for the cancellation of an event due to extreme weather conditions or any Force Majeure.
The Council therefore encourage event organisers to have appropriate terms and conditions for tickets sales and/or take out insurance to protect themselves from financial losses in such an eventuality.
The Council will always make reasonable endeavours to accommodate an event disrupted by force majeure on an alternative date or location through negotiations with the event organiser.
If an event organiser withdraws from the booking prior to the hire period there will be no refunds of any deposit/hire fees paid to date.
If an event is prevented from proceeding on the intended date / location for reasons beyond either the event organiser or the Council’s control (force majeure) e.g. weather events, the Council will not refund any hire fees paid to date.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/cancellations/Bute Park is a Grade 1 listed historic landscape and nationally significant arboretum, please help us protect it. We have provided the following guidance to help you do this.
Cardiff Council withholds the right to fine Event Organisers for any damage caused to the ground as a result of their event. These fines can be significant and are non-negotiable, please avoid them by following this guidance.
Depending on weather, ground conditions as well as the infrastructure, traffic volumes and scale or your set up, your event will present a certain level of risk to the land on which it is held.
Cardiff Council will charge Event Organisers for the cost of repairing damage to the ‘fabric’ of the park, e.g. turfing or re-seeding grassed areas, de-compacting soil, re-grading tyre ruts etc. The costs will be taken from the event bond.
However, due to weather conditions or time of year, the reinstatement work may not be able to be carried out straight away and the impact of your event may leave an unsightly legacy for several weeks or months. This is not appreciated by regular park users or parks staff so when it comes to damage, prevention is much better than cure.
- A major cause of damage by events is vehicle tyres driving over soft ground and causing unsightly rutting. For this reason we ask that vehicles must stay on hard surfaces wherever possible. Forks and other site vehicles should be fitted with grass tyres.
- Where vehicles must drive off roads/ pathways ground protection may be required. Make sure your budget allows for ground protection where required to prevent damage. Bute Park holds a stock of track mats that can be hired at competitive prices by Event Organisers using Bute Park venues Cardiff Castle or Sophia Gardens. See Parks Event Manual for details or discuss with the Parks Event Manager.
- Drivers can be difficult to control in event situations and sometimes stray off pathways with good intention – e.g. to give way to a pedestrian, to achieve an event deadline etc. However, Event Organisers are expected to take proactive steps to manage their event traffic and the behaviour of drivers so as not to damage the park. This will be achieved through use of stewards, good planning and scheduling, good driver and staff briefings and, where necessary, physical protection e.g. fencing, barriers or tapes positioned along vulnerable edges.
- Refer to venue site guidance for local requirements at your venue and use the knowledge and experience of the Site Supervisor and Council Event staff to successfully plan for the prevention of damage.
- Failure to take reasonable steps to prevent damage from occurring can cause you and the Council reputational damage and may prevent you holding events in Cardiff parks in the future.
See Care of Trees in Cardiff Parks
See Emergency Plans
See Ground Protection
See Track Mats
See Weather
Bute Park is a Grade 1 listed historic landscape and nationally significant arboretum, please help us protect it. We have provided the following guidance to help you do this.
Cardiff Council withholds the right to fine Event Organisers for any damage caused to the trees as a result of their event. These fines can be significant and are non-negotiable, please avoid them by following this guidance.
Your site staffed should be briefed on this information and this sheet should be made available for reference on site.
- The canopy of a tree gives an indication of the extent of the root zone. Incremental compaction of this zone will slowly suffocate the tree as air pockets are squashed out of the soil. For this reason, no vehicles or other heavy materials are to be parked beneath the canopy of any tree. If you wish to request storage under tree canopies to aid your event set up this must be discussed in advance with the Parks Event Manager who will make a decision on a case by case basis.
- To avoid puncturing a major root which could be severed or become infected and cause a tree to go into decline, no stakes are to be used beneath any tree canopy.
- For the same reason, there must be no trenching, excavation or changes in ground levels beneath the canopy of any trees.
- To avoid damaging our trees and to prevent infection of a tree wound, no tree or shrub is to be pruned back.Cardiff Council will generally decline any such request, but in exceptional cases will allow this to be carried out by an authorised person. If you require trees to be pruned back to facilitate your event, e.g. low hanging branches obstructing HGVs, you must request this in advance from the Parks Event Manager.
- To avoid pollution of the root zone, no chemicals or fuel etc. is to be stacked or stored beneath the canopy of any tree. Drip trays must be used under generators.
- To avoid scorching or polluting the root zone, no exhausts from heaters, generators etc. shall be positioned beneath the canopy of any tree. All exhausts shall be directed away from tree canopies.
- To avoid fire damage and to avoid polluting the root zone, no cooking or fires shall be permitted beneath the canopy of any tree.
- To respect our trees and avoid damaging them, you must not fix anything to a tree. You must not nail or pin posters to trees or tie posters around trees with string. If you wish to fix or hang anything in a tree, e.g. lights, signs, decorations etc. this must be discussed and agreed in advance with the Parks Events Manager.
- If your event requires vehicle or equipment movements in the vicinity of a tree, it may be necessary to use some local tree protection measures to physically segregate the tree(s) from the danger. See example below.
Any protective measures positioned around trees shall remain in position for the duration of the event and shall not be removed or repositioned. This will be monitored by the Site Supervisor.
Mature and rare tees are irreplaceable things and must be looked after. This is particularly important in arboretum sites like Bute Park and Roath Park. Refer to specific venue site guidance for any additional local restrictions.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/care-of-trees/It is essential that events planned for Cardiff Castle contact Bute Park as early as possible to request access through the park. Event performances taking place in Cardiff Castle attract additional costs if they require use of Bute Park, i.e. for event service routes, audience access routes and/or back of house production areas. The event space can be used for:
- Event service routes
- Audience access routes to castle north gate
- Back of house production areas
- Emergency egress points
| Location | Google Map |
| Premises Licence | Covered by the Bute Park Premises Licence |
| Hire Fee | Hire Fee |
| On-site power supply | None – decommissioned in 2017 |
| On-site water supply | Yes - Subject to fair use policy 6 x locations |
| Sewerage | None Septic tanks (3,500 gallon) - decommissioned in 2022 |
| Toilets | None The closest park facilities are Pettigrew Tea Rooms and Secret Garden Café – not suitable for use by eventgoers. |
| Phone/ISDN lines | None – disconnected in 2019 |
| Data Connection | It is possible to bring data to Coopers Field via a connection point in the north west bastion of Cardiff Castle. This may be hardwired to the field or transmitted as a Wi-Fi signal. |
Other Considerations
| Flooding | Flooding Coopers Field is a flood plain and while the river Taff is well protected by the 1980s flood defence scheme, The Dock Feeder Canal is at a higher level than Coopers Field and in extreme weather may flood on to Coopers Field. This is much more likely in winter months, which is another reason why events are typically restricted to April – September. This could be difficult to foresee or prevent and may result in significant “Force Majeure” losses to Event Organisers. |
| Excavations | Some areas of Coopers Field are archaeologically sensitive and contain tree roots so no excavations are permitted. Any excavations must be with the express permission of the Event Manager and may require an archaeological watching brief under conditions set by Cadw. |
Conflicts with other city centre events/venues
Before completing your event application, we would recommend that you as Event Organiser research key events in the city which may have an impact on your event.
Large city events could affect availability of and access to your preferred venue. Events in Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Cricket Stadium) and Cardiff City FC will particularly affect Coopers Field and Sophia Gardens.
The Visit Cardiff website has a search facility which you can find out all indoor and outdoor events which are scheduled on a specific date.
If your event is likely to generate significant crowds, noise or disruption it would also be courteous for you to notify adjacent venue and local residents including the and newly developed offices and residences on Cathedral Rd.
National Express at Sophia Gardens
Pettigrew Tea Room
Principality Stadium
Royal Welsh of College of Music and Drama (RWCMD)
Sophia Gardens Cardiff, Cricket Stadium
Sport Wales
Access to site
| Pedestrian Access | The closest park entrances to this site are: - Fisher’s Bridge (from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, east) - Castle North Gate (from North Rd/civic centre, south east) - West Gate (from Castle Street, south) - Millennium Bridge (from Sophia Gardens, west) |
| Vehicle/Load Restrictions | Vehicle access into the site is via the vehicle bridge off North Rd, located opposite Corbett Rd. The vehicle bridge has a weight limit of 40 tonnes. The vehicle bridge narrows to a single lane as it crosses the Dock Feeder Canal so traffic entering and exiting must be carefully managed, making use of passing bays along the main event service road to the south. The vehicle bridge has an automatic bollard in operation to prevent unauthorised entry of vehicles in to Bute Park. You may therefore need to request loan of a set of ‘swipe cards’ so you can manage traffic in relation to your event. This request can be included on your application form. Please see for guidance on safe use of the bollard control system. Stewards/ banksmen will be essential to safely manage your traffic. These should be in radio contact with each other and following strict procedures to protect the fabric of the park and other park users. There are two hammerhead grasscrete turning points on Coopers Field - one at the northern end and one at the southern end as well as two grasscrete laybys opposite them. These provide ‘hard standings’ on which event vehicles can be turned and unloaded. Operations should be planned and coordinated to ensure that event traffic manoeuvres are limited to these areas. Failure to do this may unnecessarily damage the grass and leave you liable for reinstatement costs. Protective aluminium or plastic trackway must be used for access onto the grass for vehicles with a payload exceeding five tonnes. Ground protection (track mats, pedestrian barriers or iron bars/hazard tape) should be deployed in vulnerable areas to prevent damage caused by event vehicles over running the paths. See site plan for guidance. There are certain ‘no go’ areas adjacent to the event site and these must be physically protected from potential damage from your event, see site plan for guidance [champion tree, tree canopies generally, Blackfriars etc.] Bute Park holds a stock of ‘event mode’ signage to help manage event traffic when volumes are significant. |
Advice for risk assessment and CDM planning
- There is an automatic bollard control system at the Bute Park Vehicle Access Bridge. A guidance note is available on its safe operation.
- There is a 5 mph vehicle speed limit within the park.
- Vehicles cannot make a right hand turn into or out of the park at the vehicle bridge.
- A designated cycle route crosses the vehicle access bridge at the entrance to the park – this impacts on vehicle right-of-way when entering and exiting the park. Event organisers should consider the benefit of additional traffic management staff to support vehicles entering and exiting the park across the designated cycle route.
- A designated cycle route crosses the park between the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Millennium Footbridge, this crosses the main vehicle access to Coopers Field.
- The park can be busy. It is used by pedestrians, cyclists and other operational vehicles. These may share paths and roads with my event audience and vehicles.
- Some cyclists are known to exceed the speed limit and can be a hazard to event traffic.
- In wet weather the ground can get very soft and water may stand on the surface of roads and grass.
- The park is locked at night (approx. 30 minutes before sunset) though people are known to choose to get locked in or come in after locking via unofficial routes.
- There is the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour as may be expected in any city-centre park.
- The park is unlit and very dark after sunset.
- The wider park outside the event site is patrolled by a ranger service within daylight hours. They wear a red uniform and are based out of the Education Centre Building located in the centre of the park. The rangers work to a rota system but there are times when there are no rangers on duty. If you need to contact a ranger, the call should go via the Park Manager in the first instance.
- Crimes, emergencies or incidents witnessed in the wider park by event staff should be called directly to 999, 101 (non-emergency police number) or the Park Management office 02920 873720 depending on their nature.
- The Coopers Field site is marked with a series of coloured “Carrots” showing the outer limit of the site and root protection area (yellow), BT cables (red) and water (blue).
- There are buried services within this event site. These are identified on the event area base plan, where known but The Venue accepts no responsibility for the full accuracy of service plans. Services may not be buried at depths compliant with current standards. You must notify and seek permission from the Park Management office to break any ground.
- The Principle Contractor is responsible for requesting up-to-date RASWA (Road and Street Works Act) searches and identifying the presence of services (e.g. CAT scanning) if he intends to break ground in or around the Venue. The Venue can obtain RASWA searches on request.
- There are no existing welfare facilities on site for event staff. Toilets located at park cafes are only available for light use by event staff/participants.
The Event Organiser is responsible for ensuring all catering arrangements comply with:
- The Food Safety Act 1990
- The Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006 - (as detailed in EU Regulation 852/2004)
- The General Food Regulations 2004 (as amended) – (as detailed in EU Regulation 178/2002)
The Council requires food business attending events on their land to be broadly compliant. This means, any food and/or drink provider must have a food hygiene rating of 3 or above in order to trade at events held on Cardiff Council owned land. This includes public/guest catering, food stalls and exhibitors, bars (mobile units and temporary builds on site), crew/staff catering, VIP/hospitality catering, businesses offering samples, etc.
Food hygiene ratings for individual food and drink businesses can be found on the food hygiene ratings website https://ratings.food.gov.uk/
Event organisers are also responsible for double checking the food hygiene ratings for each food/drink business at least 3 weeks before the event to ensure ratings are still current. Delays on information being supplied may incur a cost and/or possible interventions at the discretion of SRS. Failure to adhere to these requirements could result in food/ drink providers being removed from an event site.
The hirer is responsible for ensuring that all third party food traders have attained a minimum food hygiene rating of 3 in compliance to the Food Safety Broadly Compliant Policy. Catering includes:
- Crew/staff catering
- Public / guest catering
- VIP catering
- Food stalls and exhibitors
- Bars (mobile units and temporary builds on site)
The following information should be provided in Part 2 of your event application form:
- Name of Catering Unit (registered)
- Name of Catering Unit (trading name if different to above)
- Registered postcode
- Link to rating via Food Standards Agency
- Name and contact details for person onsite with overall responsibility for checking catering unit compliance with star rating
The list provided will be check by the Bute Park Events Officer in advance of your event. There can be no changes to your catering arrangements without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place.
The hirer is responsible for double checking the ratings for each unit 2 weeks before the event to ensure that the rating is current and above 3 stars as things can change.
A representative of the venue will confirm the name and rating of each unit upon arrival on site. Units who cannot evidence the minimum 3/5 rating required may be denied entry or prevented from trading on site.
Catering facilities provided at public events, may be inspected by an Environmental Health Officer at any time. Mobile catering units not deemed acceptable by Environmental Services shall be refused entry to the Park.
The Council accepts no responsibility or liability for the cancellation or closure of the event, or the closure of any individual catering units, due to failure to comply with instructions issued by an Environmental Health Officer.
An Outdoor Catering Checklist is available to help you ensure that your food businesses operate to the highest standards of hygiene throughout the event. This checklist is based upon the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s Guidelines for Outdoor Catering Events. The Event Organiser is responsible that all caterers are provided with a contractor’s checklist and are informed of and abide by the Terms & Conditions set out in this manual. You should work through the checklist and ensure that you have everything in place prior to the event.
The Council’s Shared Regulatory Services wishes to encourage and promote the availability of food which is wholesome and of high nutritional quality.
All mobile catering units shall provide litter bins next to their units which must be emptied at regular intervals during an event.
Hand washing requirements for food businesses operating at events:
- Teal units with running water: all caterers; retailers of open high risk ready to eat foods such as meat pies, cheese, ice-cream, cooked meats and similar deli items, cooked shellfish, et al; retailers of raw meats/ fish/ poultry; all those providing tasters as there will be open foods and handling
- Bowl of water (must have access to hot water and be able to regularly replenish to avoid a bacteria soup): retailers of low risk open foods such as confectionary, breads, biscuits et al
- Communal access to hand wash facilities: retailers of all packaged foods where there is no unwrapping/ cutting and the product is sold wrapped and sealed as it arrived on site.
- All must have suitable antibac hand wash and a suitable means of drying hands such as disposable paper towels.
Contact Events Liaison Panel
See ELP
See Licensable Activity
See Trading Standards
Charitable collections can be made within your event site/event hub but not on a park-wide basis.
Any event wishing to make charity bucket collections on the street and not within the confines of a park or open space will need to get licence for this from Cardiff Council Licensing Dept.
Note, there can be no changes to your provision of licensable activity without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/charitable-collection/The Event Organiser must ensure that any event involving children fully considers the welfare of those children taking part and that they comply with the provisions of the Children’s Act 1989.
It may be useful to indicate in any publicity material whether or not an event is suitable for children, if they are required to be accompanied by an adult, or if children under a certain age are not permitted entry.
See Lost child or vulnerable adult
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/children/The event organizer is responsible for ensuring working conditions in your site meet the CDM 2015 regulations. CDM Regulations are applicable to event construction. Construction work includes, but is not limited to, the assembly or disassembly of prefabricated elements to form a structure.
If applicable a Construction Phase Plan should be submitted with your event documentation. For further information visit: www.cdm4events.org.uk
See “Advice for Risk Assessment and CDM planning” section of the Event Site document that applies to your site.
We are happy to accept CDM Plans in your own format, or a template is available [here].
You will be expected to name the individual/company that will take the following responsibilities:
- Client is the organisation, or individual, for whom the event is carried out.
- Principal Designer is the organisation, or individual, in control of the pre-event planning phase where a project involves more than one Contractor. Appointed by the Client or if not appointed, the role is undertaken by the Client.
- Principal Contractor is the organisation, or individual, in control of the event construction phase where the event involves more than one Contractor. Appointed by the Client or if not appointed, the role is undertaken by the Client.
Templates are provided to help organisers satisfy the minimum requirements regarding Construction Design and Management Regulations CDM (2015). Organisers can use their own paperwork if they wish but all headings below should be covered.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/construction-phase-plan/Event Liaison Panel
Alison Jenkins, Secretary
AJenkins@cardiff.gov.uk
Cardiff Licensing Dept
Licensing@cardiff.gov.uk
029 2087 1651
Environmental Health (Noise Pollution)
Pollution-Cardiff-SRSWales@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
0300 123 6696
Film Office
www.cardifffilmoffice.co.uk
Highways
Highways@cardiff.gov.uk
Highways Licensing Enforcement
HighwaysLicensingEnforcement@cardiff.gov.uk
Parking
Matthew.Harrison@cardiff.gov.uk
Gary.Owen@cardiff.gov.uk
Water Quality
Mr. Rhodri Morgan, Shared Regulatory Services
RhoMorgan@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
0300 123 6696
Waste Management
Website
Trading Standards & Food Hygiene
Jon Wood
jonwood@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
0300 123 6696
Interim Bute Park Manager
Jenny Bradley
Jennifer.Bradley@Cardiff.gov.uk
02920 788402
Out of Hours
It is important you know how to contact the appropriate member of the Park Team during your event. This might be our office-based team, a Site Supervisor or the Bute Park Ranger.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/contact-the-park/Coopers Field is in the south of Bute Park. This large open grass site is very popular for events and festivals. There are two hammerhead grasscrete turning points and several event water ‘pop-ups’ located in Coopers Field to service events. The event space can be used for:
- Concerts and day festivals
- Charity walks / runs / bike rides
- Private or corporate parties
- Community events with moderate infrastructure
Event Site
Coopers Field is a green field event site set within Bute Park a 146 acre historic park and nationally-significant arboretum located in the heart of the city-center. The park contains a nationally-significant tree collection or ‘arboretum’, this means some areas are out of bounds for certain types of use.
Investment made through the Heritage Lottery Funded “Bute Park Restoration Project” has upgraded the site’s infrastructure to better meet the demands of the annual event programme.
However this investment was conditional on strict event management plans being in place to protect it. Use is generally restricted to April - September, and 6 week rest periods are blocked out of the availability calendar after major infrastructure events to allow sufficient rest and recovery of the ground.
| Location | Google Map |
| Site Plan | Coopers Field Events Constraints Plan |
| Hire Fee | Hire Fee |
| Size | 26,000 sqm |
| Dimensions | Approx. 300 m x 80 m |
| Event Use | Concerts and day festivals Charity walks / runs / bike rides Private or corporate parties Community events with moderate infrastructure |
| Premises Licence | This site is covered by the Bute Park Premises Licence |
| On-site power supply | None – decommissioned in 2017 |
| On-site water supply | Yes - Subject to fair use policy 6 x locations |
| Sewerage | None Septic tanks (3,500 gallon) - decommissioned in 2022 |
| Toilets | None The closest park facilities are Pettigrew Tea Rooms and Secret Garden Café – not suitable for use by eventgoers. |
| Phone/ISDN lines | None – disconnected in 2019 |
| Data Connection | It is possible to bring data to Coopers Field via a connection point in the north west bastion of Cardiff Castle. This may be hardwired to the field or transmitted as a Wi-Fi signal. |
Other Considerations
| Flooding | Flooding Coopers Field is a flood plain and while the river Taff is well protected by the 1980s flood defence scheme, The Dock Feeder Canal is at a higher level than Coopers Field and in extreme weather may flood on to Coopers Field. This is much more likely in winter months, which is another reason why events are typically restricted to April – September. This could be difficult to foresee or prevent and may result in significant “Force Majeure” losses to Event Organisers. |
| Excavations | Some areas of Coopers Field are archaeologically sensitive and contain tree roots so no excavations are permitted. Any excavations must be with the express permission of the Event Manager and may require an archaeological watching brief under conditions set by Cadw. |
Conflicts with other city centre events/venues
Before completing your event application, we would recommend that you as Event Organiser research key events in the city which may have an impact on your event.
Large city events could affect availability of and access to your preferred venue. Events in Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Cricket Stadium) and Cardiff City FC will particularly affect Coopers Field and Sophia Gardens.
The Visit Cardiff website has a search facility which you can find out all indoor and outdoor events which are scheduled on a specific date.
If your event is likely to generate significant crowds, noise or disruption it would also be courteous for you to notify adjacent venue and local residents including the and newly developed offices and residences on Cathedral Rd.
- National Express at Sophia Gardens
- Pettigrew Tea Room
- Principality Stadium
- Royal Welsh of College of Music and Drama (RWCMD)
- Sophia Gardens Cardiff, Cricket Stadium
- Sport Wales
Access to site
| Pedestrian Access | The closest park entrances to this site are: - Fisher’s Bridge (from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, east) - Castle North Gate (from North Rd/civic centre, south east) - West Gate (from Castle Street, south) - Millennium Bridge (from Sophia Gardens, west) |
| Vehicle/Load Restrictions | Vehicle access into the site is via the vehicle bridge off North Rd, located opposite Corbett Rd. The vehicle bridge has a weight limit of 40 tonnes. The vehicle bridge narrows to a single lane as it crosses the Dock Feeder Canal so traffic entering and exiting must be carefully managed, making use of passing bays along the main event service road to the south. The vehicle bridge has an automatic bollard in operation to prevent unauthorised entry of vehicles in to Bute Park. You may therefore need to request loan of a set of ‘swipe cards’ so you can manage traffic in relation to your event. This request can be included on your application form. Please see for guidance on safe use of the bollard control system. Stewards/ banksmen will be essential to safely manage your traffic. These should be in radio contact with each other and following strict procedures to protect the fabric of the park and other park users. There are two hammerhead grasscrete turning points on Coopers Field - one at the northern end and one at the southern end as well as two grasscrete laybys opposite them. These provide ‘hard standings’ on which event vehicles can be turned and unloaded. Operations should be planned and coordinated to ensure that event traffic manoeuvres are limited to these areas. Failure to do this may unnecessarily damage the grass and leave you liable for reinstatement costs. Protective aluminium or plastic trackway must be used for access onto the grass for vehicles with a payload exceeding five tonnes. Ground protection (track mats, pedestrian barriers or iron bars/hazard tape) should be deployed in vulnerable areas to prevent damage caused by event vehicles over running the paths. See site plan for guidance. There are certain ‘no go’ areas adjacent to the event site and these must be physically protected from potential damage from your event, see site plan for guidance [champion tree, tree canopies generally, Blackfriars etc.] Bute Park holds a stock of ‘event mode’ signage to help manage event traffic when volumes are significant. |
Advice for risk assessment and CDM planning
- There is an automatic bollard control system at the Bute Park Vehicle Access Bridge. A guidance note is available on its safe operation.
- There is a 5 mph vehicle speed limit within the park.
- Vehicles cannot make a right hand turn into or out of the park at the vehicle bridge.
- A designated cycle route crosses the vehicle access bridge at the entrance to the park – this impacts on vehicle right-of-way when entering and exiting the park. Event organisers should consider the benefit of additional traffic management staff to support vehicles entering and exiting the park across the designated cycle route.
- A designated cycle route crosses the park between the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Millennium Footbridge, this crosses the main vehicle access to Coopers Field.
- The park can be busy. It is used by pedestrians, cyclists and other operational vehicles. These may share paths and roads with my event audience and vehicles.
- Some cyclists are known to exceed the speed limit and can be a hazard to event traffic.
- In wet weather the ground can get very soft and water may stand on the surface of roads and grass.
- The park is locked at night (approx. 30 minutes before sunset) though people are known to choose to get locked in or come in after locking via unofficial routes.
- There is the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour as may be expected in any city-centre park.
- The park is unlit and very dark after sunset.
- The wider park outside the event site is patrolled by a ranger service within daylight hours. They wear a red uniform and are based out of the Visitor Centre Building located in the centre of the park. The rangers work to a rota system but there are times when there are no rangers on duty. If you need to contact a ranger, the call should go via the Park Manager in the first instance.
- Crimes, emergencies or incidents witnessed in the wider park by event staff should be called directly to 999, 101 (non-emergency police number) or the Park Management office 02920 873720 depending on their nature.
- The Coopers Field site is marked with a series of coloured “Carrots” showing the outer limit of the site and root protection area (yellow), BT cables (red) and water (blue).
- There are buried services within this event site. These are identified on the event area base plan, where known but The Venue accepts no responsibility for the full accuracy of service plans. Services may not be buried at depths compliant with current standards. You must notify and seek permission from the Park Management office to break any ground.
- The Principle Contractor is responsible for requesting up-to-date RASWA (Road and Street Works Act) searches and identifying the presence of services (e.g. CAT scanning) if he intends to break ground in or around the Venue. The Venue can obtain RASWA searches on request.
- There are no existing welfare facilities on site for event staff. Toilets located at park cafes are only available for light use by event staff/participants.
See Coopers Field Events Constraints Plan
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/coopers-field/You are no longer legally required to conduct a specific coronavirus risk assessment. You should consider the risks associated with coronavirus alongside other communicable diseases (for example flu and norovirus).
However, as coronavirus has not gone away, you can continue to conduct a specific coronavirus risk assessment if this works best for your circumstances.
We refer you to the latest WG guidance at https://gov.wales/public-health-control-measures-checklist-businesses-employers-and-event-organisers-coronavirus
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/covid-19/D
Event organisers should make adequate provision for disabled visitors to their event.
It may be useful to indicate in any publicity material what provision has been made for those with additional needs.
- Parking – ensure sufficient disabled parking spaces are provided within an acceptable distance from the event site
- Toilets – although there are no hard and fast guidelines on provision, event organisers should assess the demographic target audience for the event and plan sanitary facilities accordingly
- Pathways – event organisers should consider wheelchair users when planning their event
- Viewing areas
- Ticket provision
See Lost child or vulnerable adult
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/disabled-provision/E
Large events should consider the implications of event egress on crowd management as well as the wider park.
When audience numbers are in the thousands, and the event finishes after dark then the following should be considered (Coopers Field events):
- Fenced paths for egress
- Open water at Lady Bute Bridge / Dock Feeder
- Dark wooded areas around the Gorsedd Stones
- Preventing people from heading north onto un-lit paths and areas in the park
- Road closure times outside North Gate and West Gate
See Barriers and Fencing
See Crowd Management
See Construction Phase Plan (by site)
See Road Closure
You must have plans in place to respond effectively to health and safety incidents and other emergencies that might occur at an event. Events should provide an Emergency Plan with an appropriate level of detail for the scale of your event and risk presented by event activities and the potential extent and severity of the incident.
You must consider the key risks to the event and those people present.
Develop emergency procedures to be followed by staff and volunteers in an emergency, e.g. a fire or structural failure. Have in place contingency plans to deal with incidents and situations as varied as overcrowding of part or all of the site, severe weather or power failure.
You will also need to consider your response to more serious emergencies, including major incidents that will require the help of the emergency services and where the situation is serious, hand over responsibility for the incident / emergency along with control of event stewards.
An Emergency Plan will be required as part of your event application this should give the detail of provision during your event as well as your build and break period.
It might be appropriate, if your event runs into the night, to provide emergency lighting to light holding areas and emergency exit routes. This should be shown on your event site plan.
Public Address
In case of an emergency, appropriate means of alerting and addressing the public attending an event should be in place. Any emergency Public Address System needs to have a battery powered auxiliary system in case of power failure.
See Crowd Management
See Incident Reporting
See Traffic Management
Bute Park holds a stock of bilingual safety signage that can be deployed across the site when the park is in ‘event mode’. This is for the information of both park users and event staff and drivers.
The signs are bilingual and we will provide a map showing you where the signs should be sited. Please discuss the positioning of signs with Parks Event Manager and/or Site Supervisor.
Please allocate a member of your team to collect these from the Bute Park Education Centre. The signs should be collected up and returned at the end of your event.
| Sign | Sign Colour | Number Available |
| 5mp sign | White | 3 |
| Stop and wait | Red | 2 |
| Caution Pedestrians | Red | 5 |
| Event Site (left arrow) | Red | 2 |
| Event Site (right arrow) | Red | 1 |
| Caution event vehicles | Green | 2 |
| Path ahead closed | Green | 4 |
| Diversion (left arrow) | Green | 1 |
| Diversion (right arrow) | Green | 2 |
| Diversion (double arrow) | Green | 4 |
Detailed information on each event site is available:
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/event-sites/A system of site rules has been established to assist with preparing a Traffic Management Plan.
- 5mph Speed Limit
- Hazard warning lights on
- Give way to pedestrians and cyclists
- Keep to designated roadways – do not travel onto grassed areas/verges
- Do not cut corners
- When reversing ensure it is safe to do so and request use of a banks-man
- No vehicle movement on site when open unless under the direction of the supervisor
- Only operational vehicles are permitted to enter the park. All personal vehicles should be parked outside
- No public parking on site
It is important that Traffic Marshals understand their roles and receive a briefing on use of the bollard entry system (Bute Park sites).
The Traffic Marshal's role is to maintain a safe and effective system of Traffic Management with responsibility for all vehicles whether the driver is a member of the event staff or a contractor.
Notes
- Event Organisers are responsible for their event health and safety and the safety of other park users
- Traffic Marshals must wear hi-viz clothing and position your-self in a position visible to drivers
- Radio communication links to be established between all staff working on the traffic management team
- Staff must remain at the roadside until vehicles have come to a standstill
- Authorised traffic to enter and exit through designated/ approved routes only
- Detailed schedules to be collected from the Site Manager detailing the expected vehicles entering or leaving the site
Representatives from the ELP will provide specialist advice to Event Organisers and the Parks Event Manager during the detailed planning stage. They are concerned with ensuring the event will take place safely and all statutory duties will be discharged.
The panel meet once a month to assess the Health & Safety implications of events planned in the city and support event organisers in ensuring the safety of all attendees. The panel do not make decisions on behalf of the local authority as they are an advisory service only.
A typical panel may include representatives from:
- Ambulance Service
- Cleansing
- Electrical Engineer
- Emergency Planning
- Environmental Health (Food Hygiene)
- Fire Service
- Licensing
- Noise Pollution
- Pollution Control
- South Wales Police
- Structural Engineer (for advice on temporary structures)
- Trading Standards
A representative from the Parks Department will attend and advise on site-specific issues at your chosen venue.
Event Organisers will be required to comply with the requirements of ELP representatives and this will be referenced in your Conditions Letter.
What events would be referred to the ELP?
The need for an event to be scrutinised at ELP will be based on the risk it presents to public health and safety.
This decision is based on the following criteria:
- The size of the event
- The activities involved in the event
- The target audience
- The location and timing of the event
- The event promoter (new promoters or promoters with a history of poor compliance are likely to be required to attend ELP)
The final decision for an event to attend ELP will be made by the Chair of ELP otherwise you may be requested to provide a paperwork submission for a ‘desk-top’ assessment to be made.
Advance submission of documentation – Event Organiser’s Checklist (via SharePoint)
You should submit the following documentation by the date specified (approx 3 weeks before your presentation):
- A completed Event Organiser’s Checklist
- A detailed site plan
- An outline description of the event with anticipated numbers expected to attend and indicative demographic information about your audience.
- Contact details for the event for the Event Organiser and other key personnel for the duration of your build, break and event days.
- An event Risk Assessment identifying all potential hazards and what steps you will take to reduce the risks.
- A Fire Risk Assessment
How does ELP work?
The Event Organiser will be invited to present their proposals for the event to the panel. This will be a verbal presentation and may be accompanied by documentation and/or slides. The role of the ELP is to consider the implications for public safety for any event brought before them and then provide feedback observations and advice on their specific area of expertise.
As a result of ELP's feedback Event Organisers may have a number of actions to follow up and they will be required to provide evidence that these have been completed.
There may also be a requirement for a site visit by certain ELP representatives before the event opens so they can ensure that the reality on the ground, matches the plans put forward to the Council, and risks are being adequately managed on site.
Note: Some of ELP's services are chargeable, details will be given in your Conditions of Hire letter.
Note that risk management remains at all times the responsibility of the Event Organiser, Cardiff Council may provide advice and support but accept no responsibility or liability for risks and outcomes as a result of your event.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/elp/Checklist
Catering
Alcohol
Inflatables
Guide for Controllers - Safe Use of Inflatables
Safe-use-of-inflatables—-guidance-for-small-organisations-and-members-of-the-public
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/elp-documents/F
The Event Organiser must obtain permission from the Park Event Manager as part of the booking process to use fairground rides or amusements in any park or open space.
Any fairground ride must carry a current valid ADIPS certificate (or HSE approved equivalent) which is in date at the time of the event along with adequate Public Liability Insurance.
Location and layout
Guidance on ground protection and distance from trees to be agreed – please mark on your Site Plan.
- Entrances and exits to rides shall be kept clear at all times.
- There shall be a minimum of 6 metres between any moving part of a ride and any moving part of an adjacent ride.
- There shall be a minimum of 3 metres between any unprotected moving part of a ride and any static part of an adjacent ride.
- Rides with moving parts shall be securely fenced so that no part of the ride can be touched from outside when the ride is moving.
- The boundaries of rides where passenger carrying units move in an eccentric path shall be securely fenced beyond the extreme points made by the path.
- Rides shall be sited so that there is no dangerous uplift caused by wind forces or the rides themselves.
Inspection Certificates
The inspection certificate for all funfair rides shall confirm that the following points have been included in the inspection:
- Visual checks for obvious areas of structural weakness.
- Check correctness of assembly, chocking, packing, barriers, guides, walkways, restraining devices, locking devices and pins.
- Check of safety devices, emergency stops, safety trips etc.
- Check passenger restraints for wear, adjustment and operation.
- Check for defects likely to cause cuts and or torn clothing.
- Inspection of electrical systems to determine earth points, provision of RCD’s etc.
- Operation of each ride through one cycle.
- Bouncy Castles should carry an ADIPS or PIPA certificate.
- Unless the Event Organiser is employing a competent electrician, (NICEIC registered or ECA member), then the power supply to funfair rides should remain the responsibility of the funfair operator.
- Power should not be taken from a funfair ride to supply other stands/stalls/stages etc. on site.
Please provide detail on fairground rides in your documentation e.g. type/name, size and number of rides, also how they will be powered and the supplier providing them.
Note, there can be no changes to your use of fairground or amusement rides without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place. The responsibility for safety and ensuring regulatory requirements are satisfied ultimately remains with the Event Organiser.
See Inflatables
See
See Risk Assessment
You are required to tell us in your application if you plan to film for promotional purposes on the ground or from a drone.
For filming on the ground you should discuss with the Bute Park Event Officer and include full information in your Event Management Plan.
Drone filming applications should be made through the Cardiff Film Office.
See Special Production Effects and Hazardous Activity
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/film-photography-drones/No fires shall be lit in the park without prior approval by the Parks Event Manager.
If permitted, the Event Organiser must ensure that no damage is caused to the ground or trees and that an appropriate means of fully extinguishing the fire is available at all times.
The Event Organiser will be required to have carried out a fire risk assessment for their event in accordance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
A suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment must be submitted to ELP no less than 4 weeks prior to the first day the event is open for business.
Use of LPG Gas or Flammable substances
The Event Organiser shall ensure that all flammable materials and other substances hazardous to health, are controlled in accordance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).
The Event Organiser shall ensure that the storage and use of LPG complies with the LPG Association Code of Practise Part 7 – The storage of full and empty LPG cylinders and cartridges, and the Highly Flammable Liquids and LPG Regulations 1972.
All LPG cylinders and flammable material containers, full and empty, shall be stored in the open air, on firm level ground in a well-ventilated position, and securely protected so as to deny access to all except competent and qualified employees or Agents.
Appliances specifically designed for indoor use with cylinders located on or in the appliance may be used, but shall comply with manufacturers operating procedures.
Useful guides
These guides are for all employers, managers, organisers of events, occupiers, and owners of open air events and venues. It tells you what you have to do to comply with fire safety law, helps you to carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fire precautions you need to have in place.
Fire Safety Risk Assessment – open air events and venues
This guide is intended for open air events, and venues, such as music concerts and festivals, sporting events, fairgrounds, street festivals, religious festivals, balloon festivals, county fairs, and other similar events.
Fire Safety Risk Assessment – small and medium places of assembly
his guide is intended for premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is as a small (i.e. premises accommodating up to 60 people) or a medium (i.e. premises accommodating up to 300 people) place of assembly. These include: public houses; clubs; dance halls/schools; village halls; community centres; churches; other places of religious worship or study and associated premises; temporary structures and marquees/tents.
Fire Safety Risk Assessment – large places of assembly
This guide is intended for premises where the main use of the building, or part of the building, is a large place of assembly (i.e. premises where more than 300 people could gather). These include sports stadia, exhibition and conference centres, leisure centres, swimming pools, large nightclubs and large pubs, churches, cathedrals, other places of religious worship or study and associated premises, museums, libraries, common areas of shopping malls, large temporary structures, marquees/ tents, air-supported structures, large community centres, large village halls and similar premises
National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) – Event Safety Planning
This document has been produced to provide valuable and consistent information and guidance for new or inexperienced event organisers when planning for small to medium sized events and festivals. Equally it can be used as an aide memoire for the more experienced teams when planning for their events. While every effort has been made to provide relevant guidance there may be instances where local authority regulations and conditions may require additional consideration and planning.
- Section 5 – Fire Safety
- Appendix 3 Fire Risk Assessment – Food Concessions
- Appendix 4 Fire Risk Assessment – Traders and Market Stalls
- Appendix 5 Fire Risk Assessment – Temporary Structures
See Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)
See Fireworks
See Risk Assessment
See Special Production Effects and Hazardous Activity
A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment (FRA) must be submitted to ELP no less than 4 weeks prior to the first day the event is open for business.
The FRA must be carried out by a competent person with suitable fire safety experience and qualifications.
Items of particular interest (but are not limited to) include:
- An emergency plan
- An evacuation plan
- Safe capacity calculations for the event arena as an entity
- Safe capacity calculations for specific areas of the event arena (e.g. marquee tents or other enclosed areas)
- Measures to ensure safe capacities are not exceeded
- Any high fire risk activities or features (e.g. pyrotechnics, commercial catering facilities)
- Access for emergency vehicles
- Staff training
See Fireworks
See Risk Assessment
See Special Production Effects and Hazardous Activity
Bute Park and Sophia Gardens receive numerous requests throughout the year from events, often on other sites, to use land as a launch site for fireworks to complement their events.
An application and related documents is required for this activity through the normal procedure.
Hire fees apply, please note all prices are indicative and final fees will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis with the Bute Park Manager. Costs of a Site Supervisor, if required, will be in addition to the costs outlined below.
| EVENT SIZE AND TYPE | Fireworks less than 10 min | Fireworks greater than 10 min |
| Community / Not For Profit (No Entrance Fee) | Negotiable with Parks Events Manager | Negotiable with Parks Events Manager |
| Not For Profit with Entrance Fee/ doing charity Fundraising | Negotiable with Parks Events Manager | Negotiable with Parks Events Manager |
| Commercial | £1,250 | £1,750 |
| Hospitality / private parties | £1,250 | £1,750 |
| Bond – always charged unless very low risk | £500 | £500 |
Bonfire
Permission may be granted through negotiation. Activity must be covered in the event RA
See ELP
See Fire Risk Assessment
See Litter
See Risk Assessment
See Special Production Effects and Hazardous Activity
The Event Organiser shall ensure that they provide sufficient first aid cover for the number of people attending the event.
The recommended minimum number of first aiders at small events where there are no special risks considered likely is 2:1000 for the first 3,000 attending.
No event should have less than 2 first aiders.
A Medical plan will be required as part of your event application this should give the detail of provision during your event as well as your build and break period.
See HSE Guidance
See Emergency Plans
See Health and Safety
The Event Organiser is not permitted to advertise other events or venues by giving out flyers inside any Council park or open space during their period of hire. If flyer litter is discovered within the period of hire the Event Organiser will be liable for the cost of clearing it up at the discretion of the Park Event Manager.
See Banners
See Marketing
See Website Listing
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/flyers/G
Cardiff Council withholds the right to fine Event Organisers for any damage caused to the ground and trees as a result of their event.
These fines can be significant and are non-negotiable, please avoid them by being prepared.
Ground protection should be used to protect grass areas from potential damage caused by trafficking of pedestrians and vehicles to prevent grass wear, rutting and damage.
The Event Organiser is responsible for planning and managing the event in such a way that minimises damage to the site, and agreeing a ground protection plan with the Park Event Manager.
See Bond
See Care of Ground in Cardiff Parks
See Care of Trees in Cardiff Parks
See Track Mats
See Weather
H
Detailed information about event health and safety is available in the Purple Guide, written by the Events Industry Forum.
The Purple Guide contains a lot of information which might not be relevant for smaller events. If you're planning a small or medium event, health and safety information is available from the Health and Safety Executive.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/health-and-safety/Heras banners are available to dress your event area in Bute Park free of charge.
They can be useful for improving event site appearance and also screening off ‘back of house’ areas.
There are approx. 70 available.
The banners are attached to standard heras fence panels with standard cable ties.
If you wish to use the heras banners please discuss in good time with the Bute Park Event Officer, they are allocated on a first come first served basis.
Please ensure you leave enough time in your schedule for your staff to put up and take down the banners.
They must be returned clean, dry and folded.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/heras-banners/I
In advance of your event you should develop procedures to be followed by staff and volunteers in case of a park-related incident.
Incidents should be reported to Bute Park staff as soon as possible so the situation can be escalated if necessary.
Incidents can vary, for example:
- sudden bad weather
- a fire
- structural failure
- oil spills
- chemical spills
- burst water pipes
- tree damage
- bollard strike
See Contact the Park
See Emergency Plans
See Incident Report Form
The Event Organiser on applying for an event and entering into contract agrees to indemnify the Council and its officials, employees, tenants, invitees, licensees and visitors from and against all personal injury (whether or not fatal) other than injury resulting from any negligent act of the Council or its servants or agents and all loss or damage to property whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the exercise of the rights referred to in the said Schedule or any of them and against all liability in respect thereof and against all claims, demands, proceedings, costs, damages and expenses in respect thereof and which would not have arisen if the permission to enter or use the said property or facilities had not been granted and the Event Organiser declares that the Event Organiser will be responsible for obtaining such additional consents as may be required from the Council’s tenants or Licensees in respect of Council property or facilities to which this indemnity relates
Cardiff Council accepts no responsibility or liability for the loss, damage or theft of any equipment or other affects associated with your event.
Cardiff Council accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the cancellation, delay, closure or loss of earnings of the event, or any other attributable losses or damages brought about by circumstances outside of the Council’s control. Cardiff Council accepts no liability for the cancellation of an event due to extreme weather conditions or any Force Majeure.
We require you to submit a signed Indemnity Form at least 10 working days prior to your event, this can be included with your Part 1 application.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/indemnity/The Event Organiser must obtain permission from the Park Event Manager as part of the booking process to use inflatables.
- Weight bearing
- Non weight bearing
- Gantry
For Inflatable structures it is recommended that the contractor should be a member of a relevant trade association (e.g. AIMODS, NAIH or BIHA) and have had their equipment inspected under the PIPA or ADIPS inspection scheme. Any inflatables must carry a current valid PIPA certificate (or HSE approved equivalent) which is in date at the time of the event along with adequate Public Liability Insurance.
Read the Guidance and complete the required checklists for inflatables.
Inflatable structures must be adequately secured or ballasted and supervised when in use.
The Power supply to funfair rides should remain the responsibility of the funfair operator unless the Event Organiser is employing a competent electrician (See Power). Power should not be taken from any inflatable to supply other stands/stalls/stages etc. on site.
Location and layout
Guidance on ground protection and distance from trees to be agreed – please mark on your site plan.
Ground protection / staking
Note, there can be no changes to your inflatables without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place. The responsibility for safety and ensuring regulatory requirements are satisfied ultimately remains with the Event Organiser.
See Fairground Rides
See Insurance
See Power
See Risk Assessment
Public Liability
Public liability insurance cover is a critical pre-requisite for ALL events.
Your event will not be permitted to take place unless documentary evidence of this has been provided and confirmed by Cardiff Council. The minimum cover required by Cardiff Council is £5,000,000.
Cardiff Council will reserve the right to cancel an event, no matter how far along the booking process is, if sufficient public liability insurance cover is not provided.
The Event Organsier is responsible for collating copies of the Public Liability Insurance valid for the dates of the event from nominated sub-contractors and suppliers. Separate public liability insurance cover should also be held by any performers contracted by the Event Organiser as part of an event. This should be made available for inspection on site / at the ELP visit.
Employer’s Liability
If employing anyone in relation to the event you must hold Employer’s Liability Insurance. The minimum cover required by Cardiff Council is £5,000,000. This should be made available for inspection on site / at the ELP site visit.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/insurance/L
The details of the site’s standard Premises licence are contained in
You may need to seek additional permission regarding the following:
Regulated Entertainment:
Entertainment provided for the public with a view to making a profit e.g. music, film, dance, plays, indoor sport.
If your event will contain regulated entertainment you will need to contact PPL PRS about TheMusicLicence on 0800 151 2089 arrange your licence here.
Sale or supply of alcohol:
See Alcohol
Late night refreshment:
Please advise us if you plan to serve late night refreshment or hot food or drink served between hours of (11.00pm – 5.00am).
Charitable collections:
See Cardiff Council Licences and Permits
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/licensable-activity/Many events will require an emergency lighting installation, such installations shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of BS5266 and The Purple Guide. The system should cover all required areas of the site including all exit / escape routes and holding areas enabling people to exit the site to an agreed location or to the Public Highway as appropriate.
All exit/escape routes should have two alternative sources of power such that in the event of a partial system failure the illumination level along the route remains at the required level. If tower lighting is used, this shall be set up and correctly aimed prior to event opening. Light levels along the aforementioned routes shall be evidenced by direct measurement and plotted onto a site plan showing satisfactory coverage.
A plan has been provided for information purposes with suggested tower lighting column locations. This is for guidance only and does NOT remove the responsibility of achieving compliance with the above requirements from the event organizer.
Lighting Tests
Physical lighting tests are the responsibility of event organisers and results should be submitted to butepark@cardiff.gov.uk Other Council Officers can be copied in as required.
See Emergency Plans
See Incident Report Form
See Power
See Spill Response
The Event Organiser must ensure that the site is left clear of all litter and refuse on completion of the event and shall be responsible for the collection of any litter from both the venue and adjacent land, which is directly attributable to the event, e.g. flyers, plastic bottles, firework casings etc.
Certain litter causes operational problems for the Parks Service for example plastic bottle tops that can be trodden into the ground or metal work left over from fence construction or after a bonfire that can damage blades on lawn mowers.
To prevent such damage any drinks sold in plastic bottles should be given out without their lids on.
Glass bottles and glasses are not permitted because of the dangerous litter they can create.
You will need to evidence a robust plan for litter collection as part of your detailed application form. If the Council incurs any costs collecting litter generated by your event these costs will be deducted from your bond.
You may consider recruiting volunteers or approaching local organisations to help you with your litter collection. In the past local scout groups and the charity Keep Wales Tidy have assisted Event Organisers with litter collection. If you would like to consider this for your event please contact the organisations directly.
A suitable and sufficient risk assessment should be prepared for this activity and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provided.
See Waste Management
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/litter/Where numbers warrant it, the Event Organiser should also make provision for a ‘lost child or vulnerable adult’ on the event site.
A procedure should be planned for in advance with consideration given to meeting points, child recovery and welfare arrangements.
It may be appropriate for individuals working in certain positions to hold a valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) disclosure.
See: Children
See: Disabled Provision
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/lost-child/M
We are able to consider marketing or promotional events on an individual basis. Please contact the team.
Cardiff also has spaces in the city centre suitable for marketing or promotional events.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/promotional-events/The Bute Park Team can help you market your events in Bute Park or Sophia Gardens in a number of ways.
We are happy to share your social media posts - please tag us so we can keep up to date:
- Twitter: @buteparkcardiff
- Facebook: /Bute.Park.Cardiff
- Instagram: /butepark
- #ButePark
See Banners
See Website Listing
See Regulated Entertainment Licensable Activity
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/music/N
See Conflicts with other city centre events/venues in the site-specific guidance.
See Noise
See
In the first instance, the Event Organiser shall consult the Parks Event Manager about the siting and direction of all public address, speaker and music sound systems to be used at his event and to ensure that the event remains within acceptable noise levels.
The Event Organiser will be asked to provide a point of contact on the day of the event with whom any complaints received can be directed to be addressed.
If noise levels are exceeded and deemed to potentially cause a nuisance, the Event Organiser shall be required to reduce the noise to acceptable levels, paying particular attention to noise nuisance as a direct result of base amplitude.
In accordance with the current Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at Concerts, the sound level shall not exceed 65 db (A), over a 15 minute period, at the nearest residential property to the event site.
If levels of noise continue to be problematic after the Event Organiser has been warned by the Site Supervisor or received a warning from the Shared Regulatory Services, then the source of the noise shall be shut down.
In serious cases of noise nuisance, a notice may be served under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on the Event Organiser. This can lead to a fine of up to £20,000 being levied by a court, following a successful prosecution.
The Council accepts no responsibility or liability for the cancellation or closure of an event due to unacceptable noise nuisance.
Music system or band sound checks shall only take place with the prior permission of the Council and the time of any sound checks shall be agreed in advance. Neighbouring residents and businesses should be considered and consulted when scheduling sound checks i.e. exams may be taking place in the RWCMD next to Coopers Field in Bute Park or a wedding in Cardiff Castle.
See Conflicts with other city centre events/venues in the site-specific guidance.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/noise/O
Orchard Lawn is in the centre of Bute Park. The site is adjacent to the Bute Park Visitor Centre. The event area is a flat grassed area bordered by trees to the south and the nursery bricked wall to the north. The event space can be used for:
– Charity walks / runs
– Private or corporate parties
– Community / family events with limited infrastructure
| Location | Google Map |
| Size | 2,775 sqm |
| Event Use | - Charity walks / runs - Private or corporate parties - Community / family events with limited infrastructure |
| Premises Licence | Covered by the Bute Park Premises Licence |
| Hire Fee | Hire Fee |
| On-site power supply | Yes 1 x 13Amp external plug |
| On-site water supply | None |
| Sewerage | None |
| Toilets | Yes - 2 female, 1 x disabled & baby change and 2 x male toilets are available for general public use inside the Secret Garden Café courtyard and Visitor Centre. However, if use by your event goers is likely to disrupt and exceed normal levels of public use (up to 60 uses per toilet per day), then additional toilets must be provided. The toilets are not on mains drainage, instead all waste water is treated on-site in an underground treatment tank, and therefore it is critical these usage levels are not exceeded. |
| Phone/ISDN lines | None |
| Data Connection | Data Connection Public Wi-Fi is available at the Visitor Centre and Secret Garden Café. |
Other Considerations
| Booking of the Visitor Centre itself | You may wish to make use of the Visitor Centre building itself in relation to your event. The centre is available for hire direct from the Bute Park team. |
Conflicts with other city centre events/venues
Before completing your event application, we would recommend that you as Event Organiser research key events in the city which may have an impact on your event.
Large city events could affect availability of and access to your preferred venue. Events in Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Cricket Stadium) and Cardiff City FC will particularly affect Coopers Field and Sophia Gardens.
The Visit Cardiff website has a search facility which you can find out all indoor and outdoor events which are scheduled on a specific date.
If your event is likely to generate significant crowds, noise or disruption it would also be courteous for you to notify adjacent venue and local residents including the and newly developed offices and residences on Cathedral Rd.
National Express at Sophia Gardens
Pettigrew Tea Room
Principality Stadium
Royal Welsh of College of Music and Drama (RWCMD)
Sophia Gardens Cardiff, Cricket Stadium
Sport Wales
Access to site
| Pedestrian Access | The closest park entrances to this site are: • Millennium Bridge (from Sophia Gardens) • Fisher’s Bridge (from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) • Vehicle access bridge (from Corbett Rd), though pedestrians must be aware this latter entrance is a vehicle delivery/service entrance so must be used with extra care. |
| Vehicle/Load Restrictions | • Vehicle access into the site is via the vehicle bridge off North Rd, located opposite Corbett Rd. The vehicle bridge has a weight limit of 40 tonnes. • The vehicle bridge narrows to a single lane as it crosses the Dock Feeder Canal so traffic entering and exiting must be carefully managed, making use of passing bays along the main event service road to the south. • The vehicle bridge has an automatic bollard in operation to prevent unauthorised entry of vehicles in to Bute Park. You may therefore need to request loan of a set of ‘swipe cards’ so you can manage traffic in relation to your event. This request can be included on your application form. Please see for guidance on safe use of the bollard control system. There is a strict one way vehicle route from the Bute Park vehicle access bridge to the Orchard Lawn. • On arrival at the Secret Garden Café, vehicles must keep to the hard-surface paths. • All unloading on to grassed areas must be done by hand so as not to damage the ground. • Only light vehicles less than 3.5 tonne in weight (small truck/small van/car) can drive onto the pathway running along the front of the garden wall. The construction is not suitable for heavier vehicles. • No vehicles are permitted on the paved area around the picnic benches to prevent cracking of the paving slabs. • Once unloaded, vehicles must carefully manoeuvre back along the Orchard Lawn path and drive out the same way they came in. There is strictly no through route back towards the vehicle bridge along the front of the garden wall. |
| Nearest Event Organiser and Visitor Parking | • Bute Park operates a strict “essential operational vehicles only” policy. Once vehicles have served their purpose they are to be removed from site or parked only in designated areas. • Non-essential operational vehicles are not permitted to enter the park at any time and no general parking is permitted on site. • There are up to 3 vehicle spaces in a layby along the path behind the Nursery compound. These can be made available for use by event organisers by arrangement. • A small reinforced grass area adjacent to the cycle stands outside the garden wall is available strictly for disabled use only (blue badges must be displayed). • Exhibitor and further staff parking should be directed to adjacent pay and display car parks at Sophia Gardens (west of Bute Park) or along North Road (east of Bute Park). |
Advice for risk assessment and CDM planning
- There is an automatic bollard control system at the Bute Park Vehicle Access Bridge. A guidance note is available on its safe operation.
- There is a 5 mph vehicle speed limit within the park.
- Vehicles cannot make a right hand turn into or out of the park at the vehicle bridge.
- A designated cycle route crosses the vehicle access bridge at the entrance to the park – this impacts on vehicle right-of-way when entering and exiting the park. Event organisers should consider the benefit of additional traffic management staff to support vehicles entering and exiting the park across the designated cycle route.
- The park can be busy. It is used by pedestrians, cyclists and other operational vehicles. These may share paths and roads with my event audience and vehicles.
- Some cyclists are known to exceed the speed limit and can be a hazard to event traffic.
- In wet weather the ground can get very soft and water may stand on the surface of roads and grass.
- The park is locked at night (approx. 30 minutes before sunset) though people are known to choose to get locked in or come in after locking via unofficial routes.
- There is the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour as may be expected in any city-centre park.
- The park is unlit and very dark after sunset.
- The wider park outside the event site is patrolled by a ranger service within daylight hours. They wear a red uniform and are based out of the Visitor Centre Building located in the centre of the park. The rangers work to a rota system but there are times when there are no rangers on duty.
- If you need to contact a ranger, the call should go via the Park Manager in the first instance.
- Crimes, emergencies or incidents witnessed in the wider park by event staff should be called directly to 999, 101 (non-emergency police number) or the Park Management office 02920 873720 depending on their nature.
- You must notify and seek permission from the Park Management office to break any ground.
- There are welfare facilities at the Secret Garden Café and Visitor Centre. As outlined above the number of uses per day is limited. Check opening
hours in advance.
P
Late night events can cause disruption to park locking times - please discuss with the Bute Park Event Officer.
You should provide a gate by gate timetable stating which gates are effected on which dates.
You should detail any support you will be offering the Park Rangers with regard to locking later than the normal park locking times. This may include stewarding at the main entrance gates to discourage the public from entering the park if it would normally have already been locked.
In some cases the park may need to be locked earlier than normal – again, please provide a gate by gate timetable and state how you will manage this process.
These details will be shared with park staff and the Park Rangers.
Please note that due to the regular Park Run event (avg. 600-800 runners per week) there can be strictly no vehicle movements within Bute Park between 09:00 and 09:45 on Saturdays.
Course http://www.parkrun.org.uk/cardiff/course/
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/park-run/Only operational vehicles are permitted to enter the park. All personal vehicles should be parked outside.
It is possible to arrange part or exclusive hire of adjacent Council-managed public pay and display car parks.
For 20 vehicles or under:
- Use the pay and display car parks on North Road/Sophia Gardens
- Pay at the machine or create an account and pay via MiPermit
- MiPermit will need all vehicle registrations put in but multiple vehicles can be added under one account and a receipt will be provided
- This will incur the daily cost and spaces will not be reserved
For 21 vehicles or over:
- There is an area (north of the vehicle access bridge) that can be partitioned and has lockable bollards that can be put in place which would have to be managed by the hirer
- The cost of this area would cost £8.40 x 21 spaces + £58 admin fee. Total = £234.40
- Any additional spaces required would be charged at £8.40.
Minimum 5 working days’ notice required - contact the Parking Team to arrange for invoicing of this area and to inform parking attendants of the authorised parking request.
Contact the Parking Team to discuss use of larger parking areas or use of the Sophia Gardens Spine Road for access.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/parking/Passport to the City provides opportunities for children and young people aged 3 – 25* to engage with experiences across the city of Cardiff. (*Additional Learning needs)
Children and young people can participate in a range of fun activities and educational programmes.
The team deliver bespoke programmes in collaboration with city partners that enable children and young people to develop confidence, self-esteem and a sense of belonging as a citizen of our capital city.
Passport to the City programme inspires and empowers children and young people to make a positive difference in Cardiff and beyond. It celebrates their achievements and encourages them to continue shining brightly as they shape the future of their city.
The Passport to the City team work closely with city partners, business, and organisations to promote experiences and opportunities accessible across the city. They encourage children to explore the city by starting with the locations on their city map, including Bute Park.
Can you help us support this scheme?
- Can you offer tickets for young people to attend your event?
- Tickets for a school group?
- Tickets for a family?
- Tickets for several families to attend?
Every little helps, please talk to us about what you can offer.
The Team regularly share partner offerings and can help publicise your events to families on social media.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/passport-to-the-city/- Some of our event spaces have on-site power supplies (see site-specific guidance) , the Event Organiser may request the use of onsite power via the application form.
- Events using power supplies fall within the requirements of BS7909 Temporary Electrical Systems for Events.
- The Event Organizer is required to nominate someone to the role of Senior Person Responsible (SPR) for the electrical installation
- The nominated person will be responsible for reviewing installations, compliance with standards and collating all required certificates.
- The nominated person should be clearly informed of their nomination, be fully aware of their responsibility and be competent to carry out those duties.
- You will need to provide the name and mobile contact details of your nominated person and confirm they understand their responsibilities in Part 2 of your application form.
- Electrical installations should be inspected, tested and certified in accordance with the requirements of BS7671 and BS7909 and the relevant certificates issued. The Authority would look for the inspection, testing and certification to be undertaken by an electrical contractor who is currently registered with the NICEIC (Approved Contractor) or the ECA (Registered Member Scheme for Electrical Installation Work). The name and enrolment number of the Contractor shall be forwarded to the Authority prior to site work commencing. The electrical certificates shall be made available for review during any ELP arranged site visit and in any event prior to the event opening.
- Events may require an emergency lighting installation, this shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of BS5266.
- All catering units, bar units, production units / cabins, WC units with fixed electrical installations should have a current electrical test certificate; units without such certification should not be connected to the electrical system or should be removed from use prior to the event starting. Alternatively the Event Organizer may arrange for a suitable BS7671 periodic condition report to be carried out and the installation shall be acceptable only if classified as satisfactory.
- All generators shall be diesel fuelled and properly maintained.
- Cardiff Council do not permit the use of petrol generators at Events.
- The Council reserves the right to shut down any generator in the interests of public safety or if the generator is causing unacceptable levels of noise or air pollution.
- The Event Organiser is responsible for ensuring that generators and tower lights are protected by heras type fencing or crowd barriers and warning notices are displayed for safety reasons.
- Structures, stages screens, etc. shall be earth bonded as required.
- All electrical equipment utilized at the event shall be subject to an inspection and testing regime (formerly referred to as PAT testing) and shall be physically inspected for defects prior to use, this includes all equipment brought to site by any external parties. Guidance for this can be found in the Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment as issued by the IET. It is recommended that resource is provided to review equipment brought onto site as early as possible and prior to commencing use. All equipment should be visually reviewed by users prior to use and where damaged removed from service.
- All cables shall be routed to avoid being a trip hazard, and protected from impact damage by either mechanical protection or placement.
- Tree branches shall not be used to elevate or support cables.
- No electrical cables shall be dug into the ground unless with prior permission of the event manager or site supervisor and where permission is granted, the route of these cables should be marked with an easily identifiable coloured marker spray on the surface.
- Cabling that is surface laid shall be covered in such a way as not to constitute a tripping hazard.
- All electrical cabling shall be removed on completion of the event.
- All equipment shall be fit for purpose, and have a suitable IP rating for their intended use.
- All final circuits should be protected by 30mA rcd’s.
- All electrical installations that are constructed on site requiring termination of cables into a distribution board or other accessory including connection of luminaires, etc. fall within the requirements of BS7671 and shall be inspected, tested and certified in accordance with this standard and not BS7909. This also applies to plug and play type equipment that is dismantled and reassembled on site during installation.
- Any fairground rides shall have a current ADIPS Certificate.
- If the event uses any fixed power supplies the Event Organizer shall ensure the installation has a current valid test certificate and that any C1, C2 and FI items identified have been corrected.
Sophia Gardens
The current electrical test certificate for Sophia Gardens is available here.
The Event Organiser commits to repaying the cost of his electricity use, beyond that covered by the Council’s “fair use” policy unless otherwise agreed in writing.
The first £50 of electricity usage is inclusive within your hire fee, usage above this will be charged at the appropriate rate and will attract an additional administration fee of £25.
Meter readings will be taken before and after the event by our Site Supervisor. This will be invoiced after your event as described above.
Orchard Lawn
Smaller events
Smaller events should advise the number of on-site generators and their nominated supply capacity.
A schedule of electrical equipment (including their individual power ratings should be made available for inspection at the ELP site visit.
A nominated person with suitable knowledge, experience and qualifications must oversee any electrical installations. The nominated person should be clearly informed and be fully aware of their responsibility.
The Event Organiser is responsible for ensuring that any generators are protected by heras type fencing or crowd barriers and warning notices are displayed for safety reasons.
Also see
See Fairground Rides
See Inflatables
See Lighting
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/power/All events should provide a Production and Vehicle Schedule with an appropriate level of detail for the duration of your hire. Depending on the scale or your set up your event will require a certain level of traffic management.
Your Event & Vehicle Schedule should cover ALL the key activities on site from the time you take possession to the time you/your last infrastructure leaves. Importantly, it must specify what vehicles (type and size) are entering the park and when.
This Schedule allows us to accurately understand your event and, if necessary, book appropriate Site Supervisor support.
A draft should be included with your Part 1 Application.
Please note that due to the regular Park Run event (avg. 600 runners per week) there can be strictly no vehicle movements within Bute Park between the vehicle access bridge and the top of Coopers Field between 09:00 and 09:45am on Saturdays.
Note, there can be no changes to your event/vehicle schedule without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place.
Consider:
- Access to your event site
- Implementation of your Traffic Management Plan
- Park Locking
- Security, Stewarding and SIA
You are responsible for notifying regular park users about your upcoming event at least 7 days in advance of your first event set up day if it will cause disruption to public routes and/or change normal park locking times (to a shorter day).
Details should be displayed on each of the park gates and in significant locations close to your event site when necessary.
Signage should be bilingual and should be taken down before you leave site.
Example sign wording:
| Hysbysiad Cyhoeddus | Public Notice |
| Nodwch bod [event name] yn cael ei gynnal ar [DD-MM] o [00:00-00:00], [event location]. Felly bydd [y llwybr hwn/yr ardal hon] yn brysurach na’r arfer ar yr adeg hon. Mae’n ddrwg gennym am hyn. I gael rhagor o wybodaeth cysylltwch â: [Event Organiser’s Name & Contact Details] | Please note that [event name] is taking place on [DD-MM] from [00:00-00:00] at [event location]. Therefore this [path and/or area] will be busier than usual at this time. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. For more information, please contact: [Event Organiser’s Name & Contact Details] |
See Contact the Park
See Emergency Plans
See Welsh
R
In 2020 the Welsh Government sought views on proposals to ban or restrict nine single-use plastic products that are commonly found littered.
With a total of 3,581 responses the overwhelming majority of responses were in favour of banning the suggested single-use plastic products. A summary of responses can be found on Reducing single use plastic in Wales | GOV.WALES.
Following this consultation, the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill will be introduced at Senedd Cymru.
The draft of the Bill is available and shows the proposed scope and direction of the Bill before its formal introduction in the autumn. Find out more on The Draft Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill | GOV.WALES.
Work continues on the preparation of the Bill and there are likely to be changes before it is introduced to the Senedd. This page will be updated as the Bill passes through the legislative process in the Senedd.
Further details are available on:
- Written Statement: Draft of The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill (15 August 2022) | GOV.WALES.
- First Minister’s announcement bringing forward the Bill (5 July).
The Event Organiser is solely responsible for ensuring the content of the site-specific and event-specific risk assessment is suitable and sufficient and for ensuring the mitigations contained within it are followed.
A Risk Assessment Template is available and a Risk Assessment should include activity during set up and dismount as well as those activities on the event day itself.
Site-specific information is available in the section "What has the Venue Manager made you aware of that may have a bearing on your CDM planning?" section of the Construction Phase Plan for your event site.
You are responsible for ensuring your sub-contractors also have suitable and sufficient risk assessments.
The Risk Assessment must meet the criteria in the checklist below.
- Appropriate and specific to the circumstances
- Identifies all relevant risks
- Adequate in its consideration of the risks – greater attention to higher risks
- Sufficiently detailed
- Considers all groups of persons exposed to the risk (lone and shift workers etc.)
- Be based on specialist advice, if required
- Be evidence based
- Be adequately communicated throughout your team
- Be acted upon and followed at all times
Please note that risk management remains at all times the responsibility of the Event Organiser, Cardiff Council may provide advice and support but accept no responsibility or liability for risks and outcomes as a result of your event.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/risk-assessment/Large events should consider the implications of event egress on crowd management as well as the wider park and highways outside the park.
Event Organisers should contact the Highways Team to discuss.
See Egress
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/road-closure/We require you to submit route map for any walks or running events. This plan should be produced to scale and show full event routes.
Easy route planner: https://www.mapometer.com/
You may need to provide additional maps to show stewarding plan or marshalling positions.
Prior permission must be granted from the Parks Event Manager for use of paths outside Bute Park in consultation with colleagues e.g. Pontcanna Fields or Taff Trail.
You may need permission from other council teams for city-wide routes.
Regarding other roads on your route you must contact Traffic and Transportation to arrange access, there may be a charge for this service. If your race route falls outside the park on Western Avenue you must gain permission from Highways department.
A draft should be included with your Part 1 Application.
Note, there can be no changes to your site plan without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/route-map/S
Stewards and marshalling
All Event Organisers are expected to have comprehensive plans and sufficient staff in place prior to the event to address the following:
- Emergency procedures and site evacuation plans
- On site security – before, during and after the event
- Provision of stewards (and SIA licensed security, if required)
- Traffic entering the park
- Car parking
- Out of hours access to the park
Stewards and marshals do not require an SIA license as long as their function is merely to check tickets and/or guide public. It would be helpful if you can indicate the steward numbers and locations on your site plan.
Overnight Security
All Event Organisers are expected to have comprehensive plans and sufficient staff in place prior to the event to address the site security during build, break and throughout the live event as well as overnight.
SIA
Where an event is required to hold and operate a premises licence or temporary event notice under the Licensing Act 2003 and a person’s responsibilities include controlling access, evicting people or bag searches, then they will need them to hold Security Industry Authority (SIA) Licence.
All SIA staff are required to wear their badge at all times. It is the responsibility of the Event Organiser to ensure SIA badges held by staff are valid and in date.
See Bollard Control
See Bollard Incident Reporting
See Licensable Activity
See Parking
See Production and Vehicle Schedule
See Security, Stewarding and SIA
We require you to submit a detailed site plan for your event.
This plan should be produced to scale and show all elements of your event site infrastructure; fencing, ground protection, structures, power, lighting etc.
You may need to provide additional plans to show a wider view of the park as well as your site specific plan. This may be necessary to show an emergency lighting plan, stewarding plan, event egress crowd management, waste management etc.
A draft should be included with your Part 1 Application.
Note, there can be no changes to your site plan without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place.
Base plans are available please refer to each event site for information or contact the Bute Park Event Officer.
You will also need to provide a Route Map for runs and walks.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/site-plan/A Site Supervisor may be appointed by the Parks Event Manager to supervise your event activity on site and to protect the interests of the Parks Department and the Council. The requirement of a Council-employed Site Supervisor will be determined by the Parks Event Manager when assessing your application, but all events with any significant infrastructure, activities or vehicle movements will typically require one.
So we can book the staff resources necessary for your event it is essential that you provide us with reasonably accurate drafts of your Site Plan and Production and Vehicle Schedule as soon as possible. We will need them to assess the times and days a Site Supervisor will be needed throughout your hire period.
The Site Supervisor will provide you with on-the-ground logistical support e.g. unlocking access to the venue, providing access to power, water, signage, heras banners, track mats etc. They will provide an on-site link to the Parks Event Manager to resolve issues.
The Site Supervisor will also be responsible for doing the pre- and post-event site inspection and provide evidence to the Parks Event Manager so they can assess if there are any deductions from your bond required.
Site Supervisor Role and our expectations:
Charges
Note that services are chargeable (unless otherwise agreed). You will be invoiced you for the cost of the Site Supervisor (minimum 4 hr call out) after your event based on submitted time sheets.
| Day | 6am - 8pm | £16.36 |
| Evening | 8pm - 6am | £21.17 |
| Weekend | Midnight Fri - Midnight Sun | £23.60 |
| Bank Holiday | Midnight Sun - Midnight Mon | £30.90 |
If your event over runs from the schedule provided, or equipment is left on site for collection the following day (toilets, barriers/fencing etc.), or it gets too late to do a satisfactory final site inspection/handover, you will be billed for the additional hours necessary (min 4 hrs) for the Site Supervisor to return the following day.
We recommend that you ensure there is a suitable representative from your event team to complete the final sign off of the handback form with the Site Supervisor once all activities and collections are completed, as the information provided on this form will be used to determine what deductions, if any, are necessary from your bond.
Small events
Smaller events, please make arrangements regarding access to your event site in advance of your event.
You will be visited by Bute Park staff or the Bute Park Ranger who will ensure our terms and conditions of hire are upheld, and provide you with advice and support on site.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/site-supervisor/Cardiff Council officers may need to attend site to undertake inspections:
- visual survey of the electrical installations
- inspections of Temporary Demountable Structures
- Licensable Activity
- Noise
- Shared Regulatory Services - catering
- Shared Regulatory Services - Special Production Effects and Hazardous Activity
- Trading Standards
Meeting date and time will be agreed in advance if required.
The person who has specific overall responsibility for each element of the event being inspected should be available for this meeting.
We reserve the right to charge you for costs incurred due to failure to provide a complete set of documentation within the timescale agreed with the relevant ELP officer.
Sophia Gardens is a grade II listed parkland on Cadw’s register of historic parks and gardens. It is positioned to the south of the Sophia Gardens pay and display car park with vehicle access via Sophia Close, off Cathedral Rd.
A 4-6 week rest period will be blocked out of the availability calendar after events with significant infrastructure/ impact to allow the ground to recover.
The event space is next to residential and business premises, including a hotel, so applications for events will be assessed with potential disruption to these in mind.
The event space can be used for:
- Charity walks / runs / bike rides
- Private or corporate parties
- Community events with limited / moderate infrastructure
- Open air theatre events
- Overflow car parking related to events in Bute Park or Cardiff Castle
| Location | Google Map |
| Size | 4,000 sqm |
| Dimensions | Approx.: 79m x 52m |
| Premises Licence | Covered by the Sophia Gardens Premises Licence |
| Hire Fee | Hire Fee |
| On-site power supply | Yes - Subject to fair use policy - 16 Amp Single phase 230 volts (x2) - 32 Amp Single phase 230 volts (x2) - 63 Amp 3 phase + neutral 400 volts - 63 Amp Single phase 230 volts 2024 Test Certificate |
| On-site water supply | Yes Subject to fair use policy, 1x location |
| Sewerage | None |
| Toilets | None There is a public toilet block within the Sophia Gardens car park. Note the public opening hours are limited. Not suitable for use by eventgoers |
| Phone/ISDN lines | None |
| Data Connection | None |
Other Considerations
| Ground make up | The ground is made up of a fibre-reinforced turf that has been designed to withstand rutting by vehicle tyres. The construction is quite shallow with hardcore below, so stakes cannot be driven in more than 0.5m, therefore water ballast anchorage may be necessary to support your structures. |
| Neighbours and noise | The Sophia Gardens event area is adjacent to a hotel and residential accommodation. Therefore you must consider the noise nuisance that may be caused by your event, including during build and breakdown. Out of courtesy, we would strongly advise you consult and communicate your plans in advance with adjacent properties. The car park, coach park and access road are used for parking on major match days at Millennium Stadium, causing significant disruption to access to this site. |
| Lighting | The car park is lit, but the event area is not. Additional lighting will be required for your event if it will operate in hours of darkness, or you have staff working on site in the hours of darkness. |
| Fencing | Being located with an unlocked park in the city centre, security and/or perimeter fence will be required for the safety of your equipment, guests and staff. |
Conflicts with other city centre events/venues
Before completing your event application, we would recommend that you as Event Organiser research key events in the city which may have an impact on your event.
Large city events could affect availability of and access to your preferred venue. Events in Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Cricket Stadium) and Cardiff City FC will particularly affect Coopers Field and Sophia Gardens.
The Visit Cardiff website has a search facility which you can find out all indoor and outdoor events which are scheduled on a specific date.
If your event is likely to generate significant crowds, noise or disruption it would also be courteous for you to notify adjacent venue and local residents including the and newly developed offices and residences on Cathedral Rd.
- National Express at Sophia Gardens
- Kindle Cardiff
- Pettigrew Tea Room
- Principality Stadium
- Royal Welsh of College of Music and Drama (RWCMD)
- Sophia Gardens Cardiff, Cricket Stadium
- Sport Wales
Access to site
| Pedestrian Access | The closest park entrances to this site are: - Castle Street (to the south) - Bute Park via Millennium Bridge over the River Taff (to the east) - Sophia Close and ‘spine road’ (to the north and west) |
| Vehicle/Load Restrictions | A row of removable lockable bollards are located along the front (west) boundary to prevent unauthorised vehicle use of the event area and to allow entry/exit points to be switched to ease damage to grass. There are 4 empty ‘docking stations’ at the south end to receive the removed bollards for safe-keeping. Keys to remove the bollards are available from the Site Supervisor. Please note, there is no access in or out by vehicles onto Castle Street / Cowbridge Road East through the bollards and gates to the south. This is for emergency use only. NB. Events taking place in Principality or Sophia Gardens Cricket Stadium would have an impact on the Sophia Gardens car park, so any event looking to book this space would need to check event diaries for these stadia first. |
| Nearest Event Organiser and Visitor Parking | The Sophia Gardens event area itself can accommodate up to 100 spaces. These are booked via the normal event application methods. The Sophia Gardens car park has 320 Pay & Display spaces in the main car park and along the Sophia Gardens ‘spine road’, which runs along the front (west) of the event area. Booking of these spaces is via Parking Services within Cardiff Council’s Traffic & Transportation Department. There are 9 coach spaces adjacent to the main car park. These are available for general use via the P&D ticket machines. You must discuss and organise use of P&D spaces direct with the Parking Services team but please keep your contact within the Parks / Event Department informed of decisions, for their information. Unless you are explicitly told otherwise, event organisers should assume sole responsibility for communicating with the Parking Services team on all matters affecting P&D parking spaces. The Event Manager and Site Supervisor assume no responsibility for communication or negotiation between the parties. This is done in order to keep roles and responsibilities and appropriate channels of communication clear. |
Advice for risk assessment and CDM planning
- The vicinity of the event area can be busy. It is used by pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. These may share paths and roads with the event audience and vehicles.
- The event area is accessible by pedestrians at all times unless securely fenced.
- Unauthorised parking may block vehicle access onto site. Access routes should be secured in advance to prevent delays.
- Businesses and private residences share the vehicle access route to the event area.
- The Sophia Gardens car park and P&D bays along the Sophia Gardens Spine Rd are taken over by Cardiff Council’s traffic stewards when the Millennium Stadium/Sophia Gardens Cricket Stadium are in event mode. Check Cardiff City Events Schedule for clashes with your dates of hire.
- There is the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour as may be expected in any city-centre park.
- The site itself is unlit and dark after sunset.
- The site is close to businesses and private residences. Noise disturbance to these adjacent premises must be considered and planned for to prevent nuisance. Consider contacting residences on: Cathedral Road, Sophia Walk, Hamilton Street, Talbot Street, Coldstream Terrace,
- Belgrave Court, Lower Cathedral Rd, West Lee, Green Street, Mark Street, The old Westgate Pub
- In wet weather the ground can get very soft and water may stand on the surface of roads and grass.
- Power and water are available on site. The Park Manager can grant access on request.
- There are buried services in and around the Venue. Where known, these are identified on the event area base plan. However, the Venue accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of this plan. The Principle Contractor is responsible for requesting up-to-date RASWA (Road and Street Works Act) searches and identifying the presence of services (e.g. CAT scanning) if he intends to break ground in or around the Venue. The Venue can obtain RASWA searches on request.
- There are no existing welfare facilities on site.
Prior permission must be granted from the Parks Event Manager for any special production effects and hazardous activity.
The Event Organiser is solely responsible for ensuring the contents of the event-specific risk assessment is suitable and sufficient and for ensuring the mitigations contained within it are followed.
You can apply for use of the following as part of your application. Prior permission must be granted from the Parks Event Manager. Any specialist activity should be named in your event application forms and you should provide risk assessments.
- Drone Filming
- Ground Level Filming
- Pyrotechnics
- Lasers
- Smoke Machines
- Wind Effect Machines
- Strobe Lighting Machines
- Confetti Cannons/Streamers No foil confetti can be used on site. All waste generated is the responsibility of the event organiser and must be removed from site. Biodegradable paper streamers are preferred - discuss in advance.
- Fireworks
- Stunts / areal performance
- Hot air balloon activity or tethered ride
- Other - please specify
See Risk Assessment
See Fireworks
See Risk Assessment
In advance of your event you should develop procedures to be followed by staff and volunteers in case of a park-related incident. In your advanced documentation, record who will provide your on-site Spill Kit and who is the person responsible for deploying this if required.
Incidents should be reported to Bute Park staff as soon as possible so the situation can be escalated if necessary.
Serious damage can be cause by spills such as oil, diesel and chemical toilets. Your suppliers should be about to provide you with a method statement to reassure of their recommended procedures regarding use, storage and correct handling procedures etc to prevent spillage of fuel, chemicals or effluent.
Spills are regarded a pollution incident whether on hard surfaces (roads or trackway) or soft (grass). Spills can travel across hard surfaces corroding them before reaching soft surfaces. Spills can seep deep into soft surfaces and require excavation to remove the issues.
To avoid pollution of the root zone, no chemicals or fuel etc. is to be stacked or stored beneath the canopy of any tree. Drip trays must be used under generators.
Please complete an incident report, it is essential that the following information is recorded:
- Date and time of reporting
- Date and time incident (if different)
- Name of person recording the incident
- Mobile number and email of recording the incident
- Report the type of spill and estimate quantity of spillage
- Take photos showing the extent of the damage
- Please provide contact details for any eye witnesses
If you have had a spill and are in need of emergency spill response services in the park, we have had successful support in the past from Emergency Spill Clean Up (gptenvironmental.co.uk) / 01656 741 799
See Bollard Incident Report
See Care of Trees in Cardiff Parks
See Contact the Park
See Incident Report Form
See Emergency Plans
T
Events often involve the erection of temporary structures and these carry a risk and need to be managed by the Event Organiser appropriately.
All temporary structures must be properly designed, manufactured, erected and dismantled by competent and adequately resourced contractors/designers in accordance with the principles set out in the guidance document “Temporary Demountable Structures” 4th edition published by the Institution of Structural Engineers.
A signed safety (sign off) certificate must be provided for each temporary structure by the competent person responsible for the erection, stating that the structure/s have been built in accordance with the design and are safe and fit for purpose prior to the event.
All events should have wind management plan listing the maximum wind speed for each structure and the action to be taken at 60% and 80% of the maximum wind load capacity. The plan must be monitored by a competent person against the operating limits of each of the temporary structures. Effective action must be taken before any operating limits are exceeded.
Small structures
Smaller structures including gazebos, covered stalls, umbrellas, signs etc. must be adequately secured or ballasted. The risk posed by these small structures should not be underestimated as they can be significantly affected by the wind (check forecasted average wind speeds and forecast gust speeds for the event day). We expect an entry in your risk assessment to identify this risk and detail your mitigations.
Marquees
For large tents and marquees, it is recommended that the contractor is a member of MUTA or equivalent (For further information see the For large tents and marquees, it is recommended that the contractor is a member of MUTA or equivalent (For further information see the Best Practice Guide Safe Use and Operation of Temporary Demountable Fabric Structures.
Inflatable structures
See Inflatables
Fairground Rides and Amusements
See Fairground Rides and Amusements
Temporary Stands/Stages
Temporary Stands / Stages for use by 20 or more persons require an application to be made to Building Control under Section 27 of the County of South Glamorgan Act 1976 (details on the building control website).
Barriers / Fencing
Barriers must be fit for purpose and able to withstand the applied loading whether from wind or crowd loading.
Where pressure from an audience is expected e.g. in front of the stage at pop concerts, a properly constructed front of stage barrier will be required.
Documents
You should compile copies of the documentation for your structures and these should be submitted to ELP. Detailed design calculations and drawings of each structure should be submitted in advance and they should also be made available for inspection on site.
A Construction Phase Plan may be required.
The following list covers the information that will be required by the structural engineer who forms part of the ELP. Detailed design drawings and calculations including any ballast / staking requirements and maximum allowable wind speeds shall be provided for the following temporary structures:
- Marquees – if greater than 25m2
- Stages – if greater than 25m2
- All Screens
- Barriers – Front of stage barriers, solid hording or mesh panels with scrim.
- Gantries and Rigging – Any structure designed to support lighting, speakers or other flown equipment.
- Scaffold structures e.g. race start/finish lines, signage and skate board ramps
- Audience Seating Stands and Platforms - All
- Staging/Lighting Towers – All
- Any other structure – on request
For further specific information on barriers see The Event Safety Guide (HSG195) and the Institute of Structural Engineers publication Temporary Demountable Structures Guidance on procurement, design and use. (Third Edition) (2007).
Site Visit
A Cardiff Council Structural Engineer may attend site to undertake a visual survey of the temporary structures used in your event. This is a chargeable service. Up to £180 +VAT time charge is included in your hire fee. We reserve the right to charge you for costs incurred over this amount due to failure to provide a complete set of documentation within the timescale agreed with the relevant ELP officer/venue. The person who has specific overall responsibility for temporary structures should be available for this meeting.
Your specific requirements regarding structures will be confirmed once your event specific proposals are understood.
Note, there can be no changes to your proposed structures without prior approval and relevant paperwork being in place. The responsibility for safety and ensuring regulatory requirements are satisfied ultimately remains with the Event Organiser.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/structures/Event Organisers must ensure they provide sufficient toilets for the number of people attending the event, including provision for disabled and baby changing.
You must also ensure adequate provision is made for all event staff throughout your build as well as overnight for your security team.
Exact locations and servicing arrangements should be agreed through consultation with the Bute Park Event Manager.
Your proposed location(s) and specify type(s) of toilets should be marked on your site plan.
Toilets must NOT be placed under or near the canopy of trees.
Toilets must be locked when not in use.
Toilets must be secured with fencing if left on site overnight (and not within a secure event compound).
Toilet suppliers must provide public liability insurance, risk assessment etc to the event organiser.
Times of drop off and collection must be included in your Production and Vehicle Schedule.
Some sites have limited access to public toilets refer to each event site for information.
See Spill Response
See Waste Water
Bute Park has approx. 25 track mats and 2 rolls of grass reinforcement mesh.
- Track mats are 2.44 m by 1.22 m (8 ft by 4 ft)
- The mats and rolls are stored within the Bute Park Visitor Centre in a secure compound area.
- The mats and rolls are light enough for two people to ‘hand ball’ them into a lorry or flat bed and take to site.
- The mats are available for hire by Event Organisers at a rate of £10 per mat, per week + VAT [Cost price over £80 + VAT]
- Your Site Supervisor can help you with collection and delivery if required.
If you wish to hire the mats discuss in good time with the Bute Park Event Officer, they are allocated on a first come first served basis.
See Care of Ground in Cardiff Parks
See Ground Protection
If the proposed event involves shops or stalls trading in food, drink or goods, then it may be referred to Trading Standards. Environmental Health will also want further information.
Trading Standards officers may attend the event to carry out inspections to ensure fair trading in accordance with the following legislation:
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, which makes it a criminal offence to give short weights or measures to customers
- Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, which require that goods correspond with any description given, are of satisfactory quality and are fit for purpose
- Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 and Trade Marks Act 1974m which impose severe penalties for those convicted of selling counterfeit goods
- Licensing Act 2003, which prohibits the sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 18
- Food Safety Act 1990 which requires food to comply with labelling and compositional regulations, and prohibits the presence of any foreign bodies.
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005, which require all consumer goods to be safe for consumer use when sold.
- Animal Health Act 1981 and Animal Welfare Act 2006, which require agricultural animals to be free from disease and have their movements controlled, and the welfare of all animals to be observed, with particular attention to the provision of food and water, adequate space, and shelter.
Although individual traders will be subject to enforcement action if they operate illegally, the Event Organiser has overall responsibility for ensuring that all activities taking place at the event are run in compliance with the law.
For further information and advice, contact the Council’s Trading Standards Dept.
See Alcohol
See Animals
See Catering
See Events Liaison Panel
See Licensable Activity
All events should provide a Traffic Management Plan with an appropriate level of provision for the duration of your event. Depending on the scale or your set up your event will require a certain level of traffic management.
You are required as a condition of your booking, to produce an event-specific Traffic Management Plan and have a dedicated member of staff controlling vehicle movements through the vehicle access bridge at all times you use it.
You must give us the full name and mobile contact details of the person with overall responsibility for traffic management on site as they will be a key person for our Site Supervisor to liaise with.
Note, the Council can provide traffic management staff at cost if you require this. Traffic management is not a function that will be performed by our Site Supervisors though they will monitor effectiveness and report back observations.
Breaches of the site traffic management rules will result in a fine of £250 per recorded incident against your bond so we strongly advise you to ensure all drivers are personally identifiable and that they sign something to confirm they have read and understood our site conduct rules (see link below).
Site-specific information that will help you with your Traffic Management Plan are given in the Construction Phase Plan for your event site.
Remember: Only operational vehicles are permitted to enter the park. All personal vehicles should be parked outside.
The main objectives for a Traffic Management Plan are:
- Health & Safety
- Protection of the Event Site
- Management of event vehicles on site
- Support of Park operational vehicles
Consider:
- Traffic access and process on site
- Bollard Control
- Security, Stewarding and SIA
- Use of Event Mode Signage
- Code Of Conduct for drivers
- Parking
- Policy for exiting vehicles after dark
- Access for emergency vehicles
See Access Postcodes
See Access to your event site
See Bollard Incident Reporting
See Bond
See Care of ground in Cardiff Parks
See Care of trees in Cardiff Parks
See Production and Vehicle Schedule
W
The Workplace Recycling Regulations were approved by the Senedd on the 28 November and will come into force on 6 April 2024. This represents a significant next step on Wales’ journey as a world-leading recycling nation and is a critical action to tackle the climate and nature emergency, and make progress towards a stronger, greener economy as committed to within our Programme for Government.
The regulations will mean that all business, public and third sector workplaces will be required to separate key recyclable materials in the same way households already do across most of Wales. This will reduce the amount of waste we send to incineration and landfill and increase the quality and quantity of recyclable materials we collect from workplaces. This will in turn capture important materials to be put back into the Welsh economy as well as improving the consistency of how we collect and manage recycling.
The Separate Collection of Waste Materials for Recycling: a Code of Practice for Wales (‘the Code’) which sets out practical guidance on how to comply with the new law has also been published.
If you would like to read the Ministerial Statement, which includes a link to the Code of Practice, you can do so here: Written Statement: Making the Workplace Recycling Regulations and publication of the Code of Practice (4 December 2023) | GOV.WALES
The Event Organiser must ensure that there are sufficient bins and skips available for the event.
All waste receptacles, including any skips, must be covered if left unattended to prevent attack by wildlife such as birds and squirrels.
Rubbish bags should not be left out in a park for collection the next day as they will be torn open by wildlife overnight and the contents scattered. The Event Organiser would be charged for any re-cleansing necessary in such a situation.
Please ensure any temporary event signage and banners are taken down before your leave site.
Visit the Commercial Waste Service website to find out more information on the services the Council can offer your event.
Catering
All mobile catering units shall provide litter bins next to their units which must be emptied at regular intervals during an event.
See Catering
Litter
See Litter
Waste Water
See Waste Water
There are two x 3,500 Gallon cess pit tanks on the south of Coopers Field (see site plan) for foul/grey water storage. These tanks can be made available for use by arrangement. The event organiser must fund and arrange a full pump out at end of hire.
Alternatively hirers must make provision for the storage and removal of grey/foul water from site.
- The proposed location for tanks should be marked on your site plan and agreed in advance.
- Tanks must NOT be placed under or near the canopy of trees.
- Suppliers must provide public liability insurance, risk assessment etc to the event organiser.
- Times of delivery, collection and servicing must be included in your Production and Vehicle Schedule.
The provision of safe drinking water as part of an event should be considered by the event organisers at the earliest opportunity.
We would encourage you to reduce plastic consumption at your event and consider alternatives to distributing individual bottles of water.
Some sites have a mains water supply available, refer to each event site for information. Refer to the specific site plans for the location of underground services.
Small events
The provision of drinking water is important at all events.
Failure to provide a safe source of drinking water in the appropriate volumes for an event can have significant consequences.
Large events
Generally all water should be provided from a mains supply, but if this is not possible then bowsers or bottled drinking water is acceptable. The mains supply can also be used for ballast tanks, toilets and shower facilities etc.
The Event Organiser commits to repaying the cost of his water use, beyond that covered by the Council’s “fair use” policy unless otherwise agreed in writing at time of booking confirmation.
At the time of publication, the first 30 cubic meters (30,000 litres) of water is inclusive within the site hire fee. Water use above that volume will be chargeable at £1.61 per cubic meter (m3) plus a standard admin charge of £25. Meter readings will need to be taken before and after the event and approved by the site supervisor.
Mains Water supply
The Event Organiser may request connection to the Park’s water supply and mains drainage systems. All standpipe points, pumping machinery, open manhole covers and drainage systems shall be securely protected so as to deny access to all except competent and qualified employees or Agents.
The event organiser must make alternative/contingency plans in the event of a loss of the water supply, which could involve bowsers or bottled water. Failure to provide a safe source of drinking water in the appropriate volumes for an event can have significant consequences.
Guidance for event organisers for the safe management and provision of temporary water can be found using BS 8551:2015 Provision and management of temporary water supplies and distribution networks (not including provisions for statutory emergencies) Code of Practice.
All water dispensing equipment should be clean, well maintained and suitable. Where a connection to mains water is to be undertaken, this connection, the pipes and water fittings must comply with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 and the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2010. These Regulations are enforced by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and will require an inspection by a DCWW Inspector before the event commences.
The event organiser must disinfect and flush all pipe work and water fittings prior to sampling and testing temporary the water supply for bacteriological safety, especially those provided for outdoor events.
Any event organiser wishing to utilise the existing water supplies in either Cooper’s Field or Sophia Gardens will be responsible for arranging testing of these supplies. Testing must be carried out a minimum of 2 working days before the event to allow for the return of test results and corrective actions, if necessary.
Event organisers are encouraged to contact Pollution Control and DCWW for advice with a temporary water supply as soon as possible in the planning of an event.
Your event documentation should:
- include a list all intended use(s) of water
- indicate the connection type (Mains, Private, Bowser or Tanker Supply)
- illustrate the water supply distribution network and indicate location of points of use (e.g. toilet, wash hand basins and showering facilities, drinking water points, food preparation).
Provide a risk assessment of the water supply arrangements:
- list and assess the potential risks at the site that may cause contamination of the water supply or an insufficient water supply
- outline the measures to be taken to control or prevent these risks
- list the checks and monitoring procedures to be undertaken to ensure these control measures are in place e.g. sampling and on-going inspections
- define actions to be taken should these control measures fail
Provide a method statement to describe:
- dealing with contamination incidents
- failure of water supply
- details of receiving & distributing other water supplies
Provide Certificates of Disinfection of all temporary pipes and fittings is advised to minimise contamination of the water supply.
Water samples should be taken to verify that all temporary pipes and fittings have been disinfected and the point of use water quality doesn’t present a risk to public health. Should the microbiological results be unacceptable, Pollution Control can advise on potential corrective action(s).
Waste Water
See Waste Water
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/water/Weather is a factor relevant for events operating in parks and opens spaces.
Weather monitoring is key to any outdoor event as weather conditions can not only make or break an event, but can also be potentially hazardous and cause attendees to be put at risk. Weather can impact on attendance figures, the stability of your structures, the ground conditions, as well as the health and safety of your staff and guests.
Event Organisers should make it their responsibility to frequently check weather forecasts for the location of their event in the lead up to event (event build and event day(s)) and make the necessary preparations to address both inclement weather and extreme conditions.
Extreme weather factors your plans should account for:
- Max temperature
- Min temperature
- Wind Speed (ambient wind and the maximum forecast gust speeds)
- Rainfall
Weather monitoring is the best defence against adverse weather conditions as it allows you to act before the conditions take hold and so avoid dangerous situations. Met Office and BBC weather sites can be used to monitor long and short-term weather forecasts.
We would expect to see weather contingency plans covered in your risk assessment and operational plans. Please specifically tell us:
- The name(s) of the people within your event team responsible for making weather-related decisions Each day you are on site at our venue should be covered.
- When do they make the decisions and on what data? E.g. do you have a “go/no go” decision point on each event day? What factors determine the outcome of the decision?
- What actions exist within your Event Safety Management Plan for different extreme weather scenarios?
Wet weather contingencies are the responsibility of the event organiser and the Park Event Manager withholds the right to close all or part of the site if effective wet weather contingencies are not in place when required. The Park Manager will make a decision based on risks to public safety and financial risks to the Council resulting from likely damage to the venue.
See Bond
See Care of Ground in Cardiff Parks
See Care of Trees in Cardiff Parks
See Emergency Plans
See Ground Protection
See Track Mats
We aim to list all events coming to Bute Park and Sophia Gardens in the website calendar.
To help us create an accurate listing please supply the following details to the Bute Park Event Officer:
- Event Name
- Date and times
- 100 - 150 words about your event
- Logos
- 2 - 3 hi-res images (inc at least 1 in landscape)
- Organisation's website address
- Event ticket link
- We can also embed youtube links to animate the listings.
Once you have supplied this information we can get it translated and uploaded to our website.
As Bute Park have a Visit Cardiff Network membership your event can be added to their event listing. Submit the details here.
See Marketing
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/website-listing/All banners and site signage must be bilingual in accordance with the Council’s Welsh language policy.
See Banners
See Bilingual Cardiff
See Event Mode Signage
See The City of Cardiff Council Welsh Language Standards: Guide to Third Parties
Data Connection can be arranged for events based on Coopers Field; a connection is made available from Cardiff Castle.
At least 1 months’ notice is required, with final details all confirmed 10 working days before the first day that the data connection is required.
The event organiser must arrange any equipment required to complete the connection.
The event organiser is required to cover the cost of the connection – normal cost for a straightforward request using the existing connection at the Castle would be £150; any variations from this will be subject to quote.
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/wifi/All events should have wind management plan listing the maximum wind speed for each structure and the action to be taken at 60% and 80% of the maximum wind load capacity.
The plan must be monitored by a competent person against the operating limits of each of the temporary structures. Effective action must be taken before any operating limits are exceeded.
See Weather
https://bute-park.com/event_guide/wind/
