More people will be allowed to attend Bath Carnival, after a licensing battle which saw nearby residents try to restrict its numbers.
The Bath Carnival in 2019 | Photo © Lucy Baker Photography
The number of attendees allowed on the Sydney Gardens site will increase from 3,000 to 4,750 but, as a condition, stricter rules have been put in place by Bath and North East Somerset Council about how the event is stewarded.
Carnival organisers were called up before the council in a licensing hearing on Wednesday 18th May after Pulteney Estate Residents Association objected to their application to increase the number of people allowed on site.
Ceris Humphreys, vice chair of the association which represents people on Great Pulteney Street and other roads near the carnival, lodged the objection on the grounds of public safety, prevention of harm to children, public nuisance, and prevention of crime and disorder.
Central to the residents association’s case was the claim that Sydney Gardens had been unsupervised by event stewards while the parade was taking place, something carnival organisers denied.
Ms Humphreys told the licensing subcommittee that she had gone into Sydney Gardens to look for carnival stewards to report an issue to but, despite walking around the site, had not managed to find one.
She said the entrances she used were unmanned and she had come across St Johns Ambulance personnel, a man manning a bouncy castle, and a man picking litter — the latter of whom told her all stewards were out on the parade — but nobody actually stewarding the event.
Festival coordinator Stu Matson said: “Bath Carnival takes the safety of its patrons very seriously, And we refute the claim that there were no stewards on site at the time of the event.”
He said: “We had 15 on site at all times, of whom five were SIA [licensed security guards].”
Rob Deadman, who manages RS security which provided the personnel for the event, said: “It’s a very good event and it’s very well run.”
He insisted: “Everything was covered.”
His witness statement said the company provided 11 SIA staff, six of whom went out on the procession and five remained on site.
Challenged Ms Humphreys’ testimony, he said: “I just find it hard to believe that you couldn’t see eleven people within the confines of that garden with hi-viz.”
He added that Bath Rugby’s Dunnie, Tom, and Gabe had joined teams on the gates later on to help monitor the numbers with clickers.
Mr Matson said the number of people on site peaked at 2,875, a number monitored by calling the people with clickers at several points throughout the day.
After the marathon licensing hearing, which stretched to almost four hours including long periods of closed session in which councillors deliberated privately, councillors decided to allow the carnival to increase their numbers.
But additional conditions were imposed to address the concerns about stewarding.
The headquarters on site will be signposted, with a plan of the site located at each entrance and exit; volunteers and staff on site will need to carry the details of organisers to contact if needed; and people on the gates will be contacted half hourly to log the number of people on site.
Ms Humpreys said: “We are really pleased that our concerns about the absence of meaningful monitoring of people entering and leaving have been taken into account.”
Mr Matson said he was also “really pleased.”
He said: “The main thing for us is we can continue to deliver a safe event for everyone that wants to be there and remain as inclusive as possible.”
Tim Ball, who has held the council’s cabinet portfolio for licensing, added: “The licensing committee took a balanced view … and came to a balanced decision taking into account the resident’s concerns as well.”
The Bath Carnival will take place on 8th July.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
