For all the events we run, whether it is the Village Fayre or Santa visiting, we do our best to make sure that everyone at the event is safe and secure.

We endeavour to act on lessons learned from other events and incidents that have occurred at public events and publicly accessible locations. To do this, we prepare a number of risk assessments for each event each year to identify risks, and the measures that should be put in place to mitigate those risks.

Martyn's Law is an emerging piece of legislation aimed at improving the safety of public spaces and events. It was proposed in response to the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, which resulted in the deaths of 22 people and injured hundreds of others. It is anticipated that the law will require event organizers to have effective security measures in place to protect the public from terrorist attacks. Whilst the detailed legislation has not yet been finalised, it is expected to include large community events such as the Village Fayre, CDRA Gig on the Green, and the Christmas Lights Switch On.

We wanted to update the community on the likely impact of Martyn's Law on our events in the coming years.

Behind the scenes, we will need to conduct thorough risk assessments to identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities. We will then need to implement appropriate security measures in response to identified risks.

Wherever possible, these measures will be discreet and not impact the smooth running or enjoyment of the day. As an example, we have in 2021 & 2022 years implemented physical road blocks (vehicles parked across the road) at the Christmas Lights Switch On in response to the threat posed by vehicles – this was unobtrusive as it just appeared like parked vehicles, and not a deliberate security measure.  

We hope that any new security measures needed will provide reassurance to attendees that the event is safe and we believe it is important to communicate any new security measures proposed to the community to ensure everyone is aware and understands the need for them. We will endeavour to provide clear and concise information through social media, our website, and other channels as appropriate, as well as briefing volunteers so that they can provide clear and consistent messaging.

Our next large event is the CDRA Gig on the Green, this is also the most vulnerable in security terms with free flowing pedestrian and vehicular access from Station Road and Bowers Place, we also had some safety health & safety concerns towards the end of the evening in 2022. Just like normal we will be considering relevant Health & Safety Guidance to identify the hazards, review the risk and likelihood and put suitable control measures in place to eliminate or reduce the risks and threats from those hazards. With the increasing popularity of the event and considerable increase in attendees (which is great - thank you for the support!) over our previous two events we are reviewing and implementing enhanced security and safety measures to meet our legal and moral responsibilities as an event organiser. Our control measures will be suitable and proportionate but will have the public and our communities safety at the heart of everything we do. Key risks already identified relate to village capacity and the ability of vehicles to drive onto the green.  It is likely that measures to combat these risks will result in significant additional event costs which will need to be funded. Once we have the confirmed plan for this year we will update everyone again.

We are yet to start reviews of other events and will provide further updates when we are able.

The CDRA takes the safety and security of everyone attending events that we run very seriously. We will do our best to meet these emerging requirements whilst continuing to provide great events for our community. 

Thank you for your continued support!