Street parties

A street party is a good way to celebrate many occasions with your neighbours and friends, so the London Borough of Bexley has produced this guide to assist you in your arrangements for the event.

A link to frequently asked questions has also been included on the left.

A guide for organisers

The organiser needs to apply to the Council for permission to close a road or street for the party with a minimum notice of six weeks required. The cost will be met by the organisers*. (see paragraph below re. Diamond Jubilee)*

Included in the application we need the names, addresses and contact numbers for three people concerned with the event. At least one of the organisers must be present during the event to ensure contact can be made if needed on the day.

Communication - talk to your neighbours, let them know of your plans and give them as much notice as possible. If they have any concerns they are more likely to approach you if they know they can talk to you - they may even offer to lend a hand with the preparations.

Noise - a little thought as to the positioning of speakers can prevent complaints and bad feeling on the day, not all of your neighbours will want to party all night, so be prepared to lower the noise levels later in the day.

It is essential that you are aware of the needs of others such as the emergency services, visiting doctors and nurses and other home visiting services who may need vehicular access during the event. To assist these needs we require that a 4 metre wide access be maintained clear and unobstructed during the event. Failure to leave this access may mean delay in emergency services attending, which could cost lives.

It is the organiser's responsibility to do everything in their power to prevent an accident occurring. Street closures must be well signed and highly visible to all traffic.

Traffic should be prevented from entering the closed area by means of an easy-to-see physical barrier, such as poles and trestles etc. This must be removed at the end of the event to permit full access to be restored to the street/road in question. With regards to the parking regulations in the road concerned you need to seek the advice from Parking Services at the council. 

The organisers must obtain Public Liability Insurance to provide cover for any accidents or damage, which may result from the event. Organisers will only be given final permission for the event on production of a valid certificate of Public Liability Insurance.

There are some roads in the borough for which consent to close will not be granted. These will be the busier roads on the borough highway network that include routes designated for use by the emergency services and the bus network. It is the responsibility of the organiser to contact the emergency services and local bus companies to inform them of the event. Failure to comply with this request within the time period will meet with permission for the closure not being granted from the local highway authority.

Further information and an application form can be found through the Guidance and application form for holding a street party link (see right hand menu).

The completed form can either be emailed to worksdirect@bexley.gov.uk or posted to: Jess Ives, Public Realm Management, Foots Cray Offices, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, DA14 5HS. Telephone enquires can be made on 020 8303 7777.