Guidance for organisers of events affecting the public highway: Appendix 3

Duties, powers and responsibilities

The various organisations and individuals involved in providing support, advice, authorisation or promoting events have a number of duties, powers and responsibilities.

The relevant highway ones can be summarised as follows:

• Dorset Council is the highway authority and traffic authority and has:
  • duties to maintain roads to ensure safety and minimise disruption
  • duties to co-ordinate all highway activities/works
  • the traffic authority will also provide advice to event organisers regarding highway matters
  • powers to authorise road closures for some events using the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
  • general duties to provide advice to event organisers primary contact for the licensing of all events
  • responsibility to convene a Safety Advisory Group for the event if deemed necessary
• Dorset Police:
  • duties to prevent crime and disorder
  • duties to preserve public safety at a public event where there is an imminent or likely threat to life
  • general duties to provide advice to event organisers
  • powers to authorise bicycle races and bicycle time trials using “The Cycle Racing on Highways Regulations 1960”
• event organisers / promoters:
  • general duties to determine and analyse all foreseeable safety risks associated with the event and take appropriate action to minimise the risks
  • general duties to plan and manage an event in such a way as to minimise disruption as much as reasonably practical
  • duties to obtain all relevant permission / licences and authorities required to lawfully hold the event

It must be noted that, besides the police powers to authorise bicycle races and time trials, no organisation has the power to approve or authorise an event on a highway. The only powers relating to approval or authorisation relate to road closures and, in certain cases, the use of portable traffic signals.

It is the event promoter’s responsibility to ensure the event is safe and causes minimal disruption. The Highway Code and traffic laws must be adhered to at all times. The event promoter may be liable to prosecution in the event of an incident resulting from his event. The advice and guidance provided by the police, council and traffic authority is aimed at minimising the risk of an incident occurring.

Event promoters are encouraged to contact Dorset Council:

• as early as possible to discuss the event
• as the local highway authority if the event affects the highway network