Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

provide the level of flexibility required to safely accommodate the Carnival’s future growth. Given that
visitor numbers cannot be controlled at a free and open event such as the Notting Hill Carnival, the
Carnival Review Group found that the weakness of the current decision-making and planning process
lay in its failure to plan for growth. As a preliminary guide, the Safety Project offered three possible
growth trends:
(a) growth at the rate experienced in the early 1990’s (high, 20 per cent); or
(b) growth at the same rate as the increase from 2001 to 2002 for both days of the Carnival (medium,
15 per cent); or
(c) growth at the rate of increase from 2001 to 2002 on the Carnival Monday (low, 5 per cent)
Setting aside the possibility of inclement weather and the suspension of major transport networks, if
the Notting Hill Carnival were to grow at an annual rate of 5 per cent per year, attendance would reach
one million visitors by 2006. Faster growth would see the Carnival becoming larger than at any time in
its history. Without a fundamental change to increase public safety and reduce crowd density, a major
incident at the Carnival could lead to significant loss of life. This report is therefore:
• re-affirming its interim recommendation that a non-circular route must be introduced for the
Carnival; and [recommendation 14]; and
• recommending that Hyde Park, the Bayswater Road and the Harrow Road be considered as part
of a new route for Carnival 2005. [recommendation 14a]
Policing, Crime, Casualties and Stewarding
Although many commentators seek to define the success or otherwise of the Notting Hill Carnival in
terms of whether or not there is an increase or decrease in crime from year to year, there appears to be
little recognition of the fact that when compared to other large-scale festivals, the Carnival is a
relatively safe event. The Review Group were however concerned that the overall number of reported
crimes rose in 2002 and 2003. Carnival policing costs also totalled £5,781,994 in 2003 with over
10,000 officers being deployed over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Whilst the level of stewarding
has increased since 2000 due to the provision of funding from the GLA, the Review Group emphasised
the importance of establishing a longer-term strategic funding programme that would develop the
Carnival’s stewarding capacity. The number of people receiving first aid or hospital treatment in 2003
also rose sharply by 140 per cent and 154 per cent respectively. This report is therefore calling for:
• the development of a multi-agency Carnival Community Safety Strategy to provide a coordinated
approach to reducing crime and casualty rates [recommendation 10a]; and
• the gradual reduction in policing levels as the professionalism, effectiveness and number of
stewards deployed at the Carnival increases [recommendation 9d].
Delivering on Public Safety: Responsibility and Accountability
The Notting Hill Carnival involves a complex network of relationships between culturally and politically
diverse parties with sometimes competing interests. Central to this review was the fundamental issue
of who is ultimately accountable for public safety at the Carnival. Published guidance by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) states that it is the event organiser that has the primary responsibility for
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