July 2021

FUNCTION VENUES
6
EVENT LEGACY
If you are planning on holding successive
events then make sure your neighbours
enjoyed the first one! How close is your
nearest neighbour? What impact will the
event have on them? Are there any covenants
on your land which may preclude the local
authority granting permission or give your
neighbours cause to frustrate the event? It
is wise to keep an open dialogue with your
neighbours from the beginning. Listen to
and acknowledge their concerns. What
measures can you put in place to mitigate
their disturbance or inconvenience? They
have the right to object if the event is deemed
a nuisance and this could cause the council
to limit the scope of the event or even revoke
your licence in the future.
Who else could the event impact? High
traffic volume in an otherwise quiet part of the
countryside can cause immense problems to
all road users. Plan how visitors will access the
event site. You certainly don’t want frustrated
visitors arriving (or not arriving). If narrow
roads surround your property, can you put in
place a one-way system to avoid congestion?
Is there good access to public transport? Can
you encourage people to walk or cycle to your
event?
How will the event impact your land? Is
there risk of damage to good pasture or arable
soil? What environmental impact could it have
on waterways and other fragile ecosystems?
7
TELL THEM AND THEY WILL COME
Last but not least, sales and marketing.
An event is nothing without a crowd of
people, small or large. Amidst all the planning
and preparation you will also need to be
talking about the amazing event you are
planning. How are people going to hear about
it? How will they book tickets?
Having an event website is a good idea as
it gives credibility and authenticity. It is also
a great communication device for answering
questions, providing information and helping
people find you. Social media is also very
powerful at helping to tell the world about
your event. Choose a platform suitable for the
audience you are trying to attract and focus
your attention here. Make sure you set aside
the resources to manage sales and marketing,
whether this is your time or another’s, it is
fundamental to your success.
Equally if you have decided to go down
the route of hiring your land to other event
organisers don’t expect the phone to start
ringing as soon as you have made a decision
to do it. You will need to go out to market and
tell people. Build a website, add photos of
your event site, highlighting all its attractions
and virtues. Communicate what types of
events are best suited for the site, give people
an idea of the cost of hire and explain if
there are any specific hire conditions eg. no
fireworks. Also, use social media targeting the
audience you are looking to attract eg. festival
organisers. It is also worth reaching out
directly to event organisers and inviting them
to visit your site. The Association of Festival
Organisers (AFO) is a great resource for finding
festival and event organisers and also seeking
advice and support.
As you can see, there is plenty to consider
when deciding to open up your land for events
but there are certainly rewards. The first event
is always the hardest but like most businesses,
once you have a good system and process
in place it will become easier. You will also
encounter unexpected problems which are
usually solved with a supportive team around
you, a sense of calm, patience and good
humour.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlotte Winship has
over 20 years’ experience
transforming good wedding
and events venues into
great ones. She is an expert
in helping venues reach their
ideal customers, maximise sales
opportunities, increase profitability,
establish effective teams and streamline
venue operations. 07493 350303, charlotte@
charlottewinship.com,
www.charlottewinship.com
Voices of the West End' at Broadlands, Hampshire, in partnership with Ginger Boy Productions
MATT PYCROFT
CASE STUDIES
OLLIE WILLIAMS, SCORRIER HOUSE,
CORNWALL
We started with garden openings
and small agricultural shows at the
estate 30 years ago but it was really
only in the last five years that we got
into the festival business. It took a
very long time to find the right fit with
an organiser as we had a vision for a
family friendly event on the parkland
in front of the house. We talked to
various agents and promoters and
were very specific about what we
wanted.
In Cornwall there is a relatively
small group of people involved in
events and it didn’t take long to get
to know them. We ended up working
with Ben Hall from Quick Panda
Productions and launched The Great
Estate as a joint venture. We knew we
wouldn’t be making a huge amount
of money and took the view that the
event would be several years in the
making.
The event does have a big effect
on the running of the estate. We have
a number of operations including
farming, conservation and weddings
to fit in and there are a lot of moving
parts. This year it is running over the
August bank holiday and takes up
about a fifth of the total land usage
when you include parking, camping
etc.
Being a farm we had to put in quite
a lot of development in order to
produce large scale public events and
have been careful how we planned the
roads, electrics and water points.
We also run a number of drive in
cinema events and garden openings
in spring. At the moment around an
eighth of our income is from public
facing events, but there is also the
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