Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

SJA over the Carnival weekend significantly reduces the potential impact of Carnival-related
injuries on the services of neighbouring hospitals in and around the Carnival area. This is
because the majority of the casualties (84 per cent) are treated on site. We believe that the
true overall value of SJA’s contribution – in terms of volunteer and paid staff, cost of
equipment, vehicles and consumables, as well as what it would cost the NHS to treat these
patients if SJA were unable to provide their current level of service – should be quantified
with a view to making a powerful case for funding.
11. In our interim report, we called for a reduction in the number and size of support vehicles used by
each performance unit on the route in order to improve public safety and minimise crowd
congestion 44 . Insufficient resources and poor event management have meant that no discernible
progress has been made. We believe that professional event management of the Carnival is vital,
not only from a public safety perspective but also to safeguard the event’s artistic quality and
content. We therefore recommend that:
(a) a robust event management and planning framework that makes use of information
technology to share vital information with stakeholders is introduced; and
(b) contracts are introduced in order to ensure that the Carnival participants comply with the
event’s staging and performance protocols. Key obligations would include adherence to
arrival and close-down times; vehicle size and numbers and promotion of the Carnival Code.
12. The Notting Hill Carnival generates approximately 200 tonnes of waste each year. We support the
recommendation of the Network Recycling Study, which called for the development of an
environmental strategy that would set annual targets for making inroads into the Carnival’s waste
by recycling materials for local markets and eliminating non-recyclable materials in order to achieve
the ultimate long-term goal of a waste-free Carnival. We therefore recommend that funds be
made available through the London Recycling Fund (LRF) to enable the Carnival organisers to work
with the local authorities and members of the Carnival community to develop an effective and
sustainable Carnival Waste Management and Recycling Strategy to implement the
recommendations of the Network Recycling Study.
13. The Carnival Public Safety Project and the work of Intelligent Space has been instrumental in
objectively highlighting the relationship between the design of the Carnival route, location of
entertainment sites and the associated public safety risks of crowd build-up and congestion. The
impact of this work has been clearly evidenced by the partial route change and relocation of the
Judging Point, which was initiated in 2002. Having considered all aspects of the research, its
findings and the views of all stakeholders, it is our recommendation that any future change to the
Carnival route must address the issue of public safety and be risk assessed, as far as is possible, in
accordance with the GLA’s Carnival Design Guidance. In addition, the guidance should be
developed further in partnership with the Carnival Arenas to include the positive work undertaken
by the Caribbean Music Association (CMA) in its ‘On de Road’ code of best practice and the
NHMBA’s ‘Route Management Plan’.
14. Our interim recommendations called for the introduction of a non-circular route and the possible
use of Hyde Park for Carnival-related activities. These particular recommendations have been the
subject of much debate and whilst the Intelligent Space findings provided the catalyst for a partial
route change in 2002, we do not believe that these changes go far enough to reduce crowd
density and ensure public safety. The Intelligent Space study found that the 2002 route was
unlikely to deliver any gains in public safety, raised serious concerns in relation to the new risks
44
Recommendation 4(a) in ‘Notting Hill Carnival Review: Interim report and public safety profile recommendations for 2001’ (April 2001)
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