Council event regulations

Overview

There are a range of Council regulations that you should know about when organising and running an event.

There may be other permits or licenses you have to apply for.

If you are unsure or need help and advice, please contact us.

Traffic management and temporary road closures

Temporary road closures and traffic management are used for events that may affect normal use of roads to road users.  

Examples:

  • a concert that surpassed the expected number of attendees
  • a motor vehicle event where roads are closed, as part of the event.

If you are not sure whether you will need a temporary road closure or just traffic management, you can contact us to discuss your event.

For information on holding an event which requires traffic management or temporarily closing a road (or roads), please click the link below.

Apply for a temporary road closure

Insurance

When organising an event, there are a several things to consider - insurance, damage to property and health and safety issues.

Indemnity

The purpose is for people giving the indemnity to meet any claims made against the person who holds the indemnity.

If an event is to take place in a public open and is next to private property, we need to ensure that no injury occurs to members of the public and that no damage occurs to other people's property.

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance is an insurance policy held by an organiser of an activity. It provides the organiser with some protection if a third party brings an action against the organiser or when there is a risk of damage. Without such a policy the organiser would be personally liable.

Public liability insurance will also be important when the organiser has indemnified us, and a third party makes a claim against us.

For further information, please contact an Insurance Broker.

If a community group doesn’t have insurance, please advise us at time of booking (where you are booking a Council facility).

Damage bond

If you are holding your event one of our venues, a bond may be needed to cover potential costs of repairing any damage and undertaking any clean up work (if the area as not left in the way it was found).

The bond amount will depend on the area you are using and the scale of activities you are undertaking. You will be required to pay the bond prior to the event (at least two weeks) so be sure to include it in your event budget. 

Event related bylaws

Advertising signs

If you are planning to install billboards posters or signage for advertising,these must comply with our Control of Advertising Signs Bylaw and District Plan.

Control of Advertising Signs bylaw

District Plan

Food

If you are planning to have commercial food vendors or community fundraisers operating at your event, you may need permits or licenses for these.

Find more information and how to apply on our Stalls and Mobile Businesses page.

Stalls and mobile businesses

If you are supplying food at your event, please visit the New Zealand Food Safety website for information on safe handling of food at events.

New Zealand Food Safety (mpi.govt.nz)

Alcohol

If you are planning to sell alcohol or provide at your event you will need to apply for a special license under the Sale of Alcohol Act 2012.

Find out more information and how to apply on our Apply for a Special Licence page.

Apply for a special licence

If you are unsure, use our online tool to find out if you need a special licence for your event.

Do I need a special licence?

Noise

If your event will include amplifiers ( i.e music and microphones) or loud hailers, the noise must not exceed levels in our District Plan.

Noise control