Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

presented and was unable to provide the level of flexibility required to safely accommodate the
Carnival’s future growth. Without a fundamental route change to reduce crowd density and
enhance the cultural spectacle, we do not believe that the Notting Hill Carnival can fulfil its
economic and social potential as a ‘World Carnival’. We therefore recommend that:
(a) Hyde Park, the Bayswater Road and the Harrow Road must be considered as part of a new
route for Carnival 2005. Such a fundamental change will require detailed discussions and
consultation with all key stakeholders, nevertheless we believe that the Carnival Arenas in
partnership with the Carnival organisers, should be supported to take ownership and lead on
these discussions to determine their ‘route of the future’; and
(b) The Operational Planning and Safety Group (OPSG) seek additional expert guidance during
the detailed planning and implementation stages of any new route. This will ensure that (i)
all safety issues and implications are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity; (ii)
risk assessments are kept up to date; and (iii) every assistance is made available to those
stakeholders who experience practical difficulties when implementing recommended risk
reduction measures.
15. Whilst, as a starting point, it is necessary to review the design of the Carnival route in order to
make future Carnivals safer, we believe that it is also important to review the design of the whole
entertainment area. From a crowd safety viewpoint, the route, the sound systems, and to a lesser
extent, the stalls are all integral and interrelated parts of the Carnival. These elements must
therefore be considered together as a package in order reduce crowd density and achieve
increased levels of safety at the Carnival. We therefore recommend that in addition to the route,
an assessment of the Carnival’s entertainment area should be undertaken with the view of
achieving a safer overall package for future Carnivals.
16. The Carnival Public Safety Matrix offers an analysis of the various roles, responsibilities and tasks
that are delivered by members of the OPSG. We believe that the Matrix clearly demonstrates that
whilst there has always been a community-based organisation to co-ordinate the Carnival, the
limitations of this organisation – both in financial and human resource terms – has meant that its
ability to fully assume the role of ‘event organiser’ with responsibility for public safety, has not
been achievable. As a consequence, the evidence suggests that in reality, the MPS, the Royal
Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) and the City of Westminster (WCC) have been required
to commit considerable resources in order to compensate for the inability of the event organiser to
assume full responsibility for the Notting Hill Carnival’s public safety issues. We believe that with
public investment comes public accountability. Given the level of operational responsibility
assumed by the OPSG in general and the local authorities and police in particular, it is our
recommendation that:
(a) the terms of reference of the OPSG, the Statement of Intent and Code of Practice should be
revised to reflect and acknowledge the various levels of operational responsibility assumed
by members of the group. These documents should be reviewed on an annual basis and
revised accordingly, as the professionalism, sustainability and delivery capacity of the
community-based event organiser increases, such that it is then able to assume greater
operational responsibility;
(b)
greater transparency and accountability for the decisions being taken by the OPSG can only
be achieved by making the minutes of all group meetings public. The group should also be
responsible for producing an annual Public Safety Strategy and detailed review, all of which
would be subject to independent scrutiny by the London Assembly, the Audit Commission
and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE); and
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