Information for Hosting an EventPārongo mō te whakatū hui

Hosting a public event? 

First step - notify us

If you are planning a public event in Hastings, you need to advise us by completing our event notification form. Depending on the type of event, Council needs to receive the form six weeks before the event; or 12 weeks for events involving a request for a road closure – see below.

The information you provide on the form will allow us to advise you of any licences and bookings you will need to apply for.

For example, holding an event on a Council-owned green space requires booking, erecting a marquee greater than 100m2 requires a Building Consent (or exemption), amusement rides require permits, and your event may need to comply with noise or traffic regulations. Licences are required if you intend to supply or sell alcohol, food or merchandise to the public. For more information on these topics see the 'related pages' links at the bottom of this page.

Parks and reserves available to hire

Council has a number of parks and reserves available for non exclusive use.  To use a council reserve, park or public spaces a Temporary Event Permit for commercial or local community, is generated from the online application, at minimum 4 weeks before your event date.  The event date is recorded to minimise conflict and event activities are assessed to safely deliver to the public and place.  Fees and a damages bond may apply.  The bond is used to restore damage to grounds and/or assets, and refunded if not required. 

An event is defined under our HDC Bylaw 1.3.2 Interpretation as an “organised event” means an assembly of people at a specific time for a specific purpose.

Use Parks, Reserves and Public Spaces

Fees and charges

View fees and charges for hosting an event

Event support fund

Hastings District Council's Event Support Fund is available to organisations and not-for-profit community groups hosting events across the Hastings District.

View the event support fund

Risk and insurance

It is recommended that you consider taking out public liability insurance for protection in the event that a third party brings an action against you, should damage occur to people or property during your event. If applicable, submit your public liability certificate with your event notification form.

Road closures and traffic management

If you wish to apply to temporarily close all or part of a road for your event you will need to allow a minimum of two months for the process set out under the Local Government Act 1974.

Indicate your intention to apply for a road closure (or partial closure), on the event notification form and we will send you the application form. For more information and a link to the on-line form, see Council’s Planning a temporary road closure page.

If any part of your event will be on or near the road or restrict vehicle or pedestrian access, you will need to submit a traffic management plan to Council. It must be completed by a certified site traffic management supervisor.

Rubbish and recycling

We are committed to hosting environmentally responsible events that manage waste effectively and look at opportunities to reduce it. Our Waste Minimisation Team is here to offer support when planning your event. Whether it’s a big or small event, we have ideas to help you reduce your waste.

Council also has an event recycling trailer which provides our community with a low-cost option for offering recycling at events. This can transport up to eight bins, with a mix of rubbish and recycling bins, suitable for 2-3 waste stations. Bins available include: glass, recycling (plastic and cans), food waste and rubbish. Find out more here.

You can indicate whether you would like to hire our event recycling trailer on the event notification form.

For more ways your event can reduce waste see our Waste at Events page here or get in touch with our Waste Minimisation Team via reducewaste@hdc.govt.nz.

Talk to the neighbours

Some events can cause disruption to surrounding neighbours and it can be helpful to keep those bordering the site of your event informed as part of your event planning. If you are planning a ‘noisy’ event, such as a concert, you will need to discuss noise management with Council's planning and regulatory team.

Toilets

Council helps ensure the health and safety of event attendees by setting the number of toilets required at an event.  At all public events the minimum number of toilets that must be available is as follows:  

Advertise your event

Eventfinda: The most important thing you can do to advertise your event is to load the details onto Eventfinda. It is New Zealand's number one event listing website. All of the main Hawke's Bay event listing websites take feeds from this site, so by listing with Eventfinda your event will appear on many other sites.

Private signs: Signs can be erected on private property. For the rules on private signs see the Signs and hoardings page.

Flags and gateway signs: If your event is of district or regional significance you may be eligible to advertise it on Council-owned gateway signs or on flag tracks installed across the district. There is a cost for this advertising. To find out if your event can be considered, contact Council’s events manager. The signs and flags have particular specifications, available from the event manager, and must be installed by Council’s approved contractor.

My Hastings: Each month Council prints an events calendar in its My Hastings publication. Your event may be listed in this publication if it fits with Council's events strategy.

Waivers and sponsorship

If the event is being run by a charitable or not-for-profit organisation in Hastings, it may be eligible for exemptions or discounts on things like green space hire. For more information see Council’s grant for service waiver scheme page.

If your event is in line with Council’s event strategy, it may be considered for Council sponsorship. You can indicate whether you would like your event considered for sponsorship on the event notification form.

For more detail on many of these matters, see the 'related pages' section at the bottom of this page. For more information, email Council's event manager.

Event Notification Form