Deadline is looming for Jubilee street parties
THE Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend is fast approaching, taking place over four days on June 2-5.
In celebration of Her Majesty’s 70th year on the throne, communities across the UK can apply to their local authorities to close streets to host street parties.
However, the deadline for this is looming.
North Tyneside Council asks that residents in the borough wishing to partake will need to submit their applications by Monday, May 16.
Small scale street parties are defined as only for immediate residents. Street events do not require an alcohol licence and incidental music is permitted.
Such casual events also do not require a formal health and safety assessment or insurance.
If residents wish to set up a bar for their event, the council advises residents to apply for a ‘Temporary Event Notice’. The notice incurs a fee of £21 and is applicable to events hosting fewer than 500 people.
Further advice is needed if raffle tickets are sold for prizes worth more than £500. The Food Standards Agency has confirmed oneoff events, such as street parties, do not count as food business, so no applications or forms need be filled in. However, any food provided must be safe to eat.
The Government recommends that if residents are unable for whatever reason to have roads closed for a street party, they can still organise a simpler ‘Street Meet’.
The complete application form can be accessed on the council’s website.
So far, 1,458 jubilee events have been documented. While the vast proportion of these are taking place in the UK, there are parties and events scheduled in places as far flung as Texas and India.
Other celebrations include the lighting of more than 2,022 beacons across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and UK overseas territories, on June 2.
There is a long history of celebrating royal events with light beacons.
In 1897, beacons were lit to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.