Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

6. It is the responsibility of the Carnival organisers to drive the news agenda, rather than react to it.
The media should be positively engaged as strategic partners and greater use should be made of
information communication technology in order to ensure that Carnival-related news is
disseminated to a variety of audiences in a professional and timely way. We therefore recommend
that communications between the Carnival organisers and the media, carnival participants,
residents and the public should be strengthened by:
Context
(a) the appointment of a full-time press and communications officer with professional journalism
experience, good media contacts and an understanding of the Carnival;
(b) the development and implementation of a media and communications strategy that (i)
reflects the Carnival’s year-round local, regional, national and international activities, (ii)
provides media skills training and acts as a resource for the Carnival Arenas; and (iii) takes a
proactive and constructive approach to submitting positive stories about the Carnival’s
history, traditions and cultural significance, whilst at the same time anticipates and responds
to negative press coverage; and
(c) the creation of a dedicated website that serves as a central information and communication
resource for the Notting Hill Carnival in particular and the carnival industry generally.
1.47 The strategy for engaging with Carnival ‘stakeholders’ - those individuals, interest groups or
organisations that affect or are affected by the Notting Hill Carnival - proved to be instrumental
in shaping the Review. Through a process of public consultations, hearings, interviews and
written submissions, a sustainable dialogue with a diverse range of Carnival constituency groups,
all with competing interests and concerns, provided the starting point for discussion and the
basis for building a consensus view about Carnival’s future. Within the stakeholder spectrum, it
is clear that different categories of stakeholders have varying degrees of influence on the way in
which Carnival is managed and operated.
The Residents
1.48 The immediate area covered by the Notting Hill Carnival is home to approximately 660 private
properties, the extensive Brunel, Wessex and Hartford housing estates, 35 business premises and
an estimated 10,000 residents. Although sympathetic to the history, purpose and spirit of
Carnival, those living in Notting Hill have serious concerns about an event, which, in their view,
has now outgrown the area. Residents questioned the ability of the local community and the
environment to cope with what has now become a major international festival, arguing that noise
levels and event close down times are neither adhered to or enforced; those residents who are
able to leave the area over the August Bank Holiday invariably find that they are unable to return
to their homes at a reasonable hour on the Monday due to continued road closures. In many
cases, they return to find that their front porches, gardens and basements have been used as
public lavatories and rubbish tips by Carnival spectators and revellers.
1.49 It was felt that elderly residents and those living in areas of social housing were given no choice
as to whether they wished to attend the Carnival or not. The continued growth of Carnival,
whilst clearly demonstrating the event’s success, is accompanied by a number of negative
consequences, such as the anti-social behaviour of some visitors to the area and issues of public
safety. One borough-wide tenant organisation has implemented a pre-Carnival operation each
year. The operation involves boarding up the windows of some of the more vulnerable social
housing properties, employing over thirty security guards and enhancing a 24-hour freephone
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