Safety Advisory Group (SAG)

The SAG provides an informal process which can offer you guidance and advice on your event. It is not a statutory role. SAG members include council services and partner agencies.

We recommended that you contact the SAG if you are planning an event that involves a large number of spectators, road closures or excessive noise.

How the SAG can help

The SAG can help event organisers:

  • to promote best practice in holding events
  • by pointing out any potential amendments, omissions or improvements
  • to provide feedback on event proposals at an early stage so that there is plenty of time for you to address any areas of concern

You can email the SAG with your event documentation for review and comment. You may also be invited to attend a formal SAG meeting. Please complete this form and include it with your email.

Minimum notification for events

To allow enough time for consideration of proposals, we recommend the following minimum notification periods:

  • 6 weeks for events for less than 500 attendees
  • 3 months for events for 500 to 1,000 attendees
  • 6 months for events for 1,000 to 5,000 attendees
  • 9 months for events for more than 5,000 attendees

Event guidance

All large events in the Dorset Council area have existing relationships with their respective SAGs, however if you are planning a new event and are in search of guidance, there are a number of tools available which can help you to document you procedures for both normal operation (steady state) of the event as well as during an emergency (crisis state).

General guidance for larger events

The Purple Guide - the essential guide to event organising. Please note there is a £25 subscription fee to access the information on this website.

Dorset Council event plan template and guidance.

Dorset Council conditions guidance.

Understanding crowd behaviours - these reports provide planners with clear direction, and supporting information, about the assumptions that can reasonably be made about crowd behaviour.

Water guidelines for festivals - this guidance is useful for any event that is supplying water.

General guidance for small-scale events

Local small events guide - based on the principles of health and safety management and risk assessment.

Specific guidance

Contact the SAG

Safety Advisory Group

Email: sag@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Tel: 01929 557220
Full contact details