World News Today: 'Surge' in street party requests

Friday, April 22, 2011

'Surge' in street party requests

Seventeen roads will be shut in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Councils have seen a "final surge" in applications for road closures ahead of royal wedding street parties, it has been revealed.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said about 5,500 road closure requests had now been received, compared to 4,000 three weeks ago.

Hertfordshire tops the list with 298 requests, with Surrey second at 205.

But large parts of the UK seem unmoved - Glasgow, for example, has not had a single application.

The figures also suggest more applications have been received in the south of England compared to the north.

London's boroughs have dealt with more than 800 road closure requests, while Cardiff has approved 53 and Bristol 54. But Newcastle has only had 32 applications and in nearby Sunderland there have been only four.

The LGA said councils also knew of thousands of parties, such as in cul-de-sacs, which did not need permission.

Last week Prime Minister David Cameron urged people to "go ahead" and organise street parties to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April.

Top five counties for royal party road closures1 Hertfordshire 2982 Surrey 2053 Kent 1824 West Sussex 1135 Lancashire 90

His comments followed the publication of figures which showed only 4,000 applications for road closures had been received by councils in England and Wales.

Chris White, chairman of the LGA, said: "Councils across the country have pulled out all the stops to make organising royal wedding street parties as easy as possible.

"The occasion has really enthused residents in some areas and it's been no easy task for council staff to manage all the differing requests, but it's work they're more than happy to do.

"Bringing communities together in these tough times can only be a good thing, and it's something councils see as one of their key roles."

He said straightforward guidance and simple application forms had been readily available and some councils had given out grants to help communities mark the occasion.

The government had stressed that its updated guidance to councils had "relaxed rules" and cut red tape which could stop people holding parties.

STREET PARTY MYTHSYou need a licence to serve food - not trueThere is a ban on bunting - not true, although people are advised to take safety precautions when hanging itCouncils charge for road closures - not true, but if they do you can challenge themYou need insurance - not true, there is a no legal requirement for public liability insurance and if a council demands it, you can challenge themSource: Government's Directgov website

Local government minister Grant Shapps said this week: "We've made clear that the bonkers health and safety rules that can prevent simple celebrations taking place need not apply to royal wedding parties - far from it, they can be set up with the minimum of fuss and almost no form-filling."

Communities Secretary Ed Pickles had said residents must be safe "but common sense has to prevail and people should use their rights as citizens and challenge councils if red tape rules are being used against them".

Mr White said councils had had to shoulder repeated claims they had been "overly bureaucratic", but the vast majority of these claims were "totally erroneous and ill-founded".

The LGA said most of the 5,500 applications had been approved.

As well as street parties, celebrations are to take place in pubs, gardens and homes across the UK.

This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.