Holding an event in a public space in the borough

Welcome to our information hub on requirements and guidance for holding an event in a public space in Kensington and Chelsea.

Public spaces are parks, highways and squares managed and maintained by us and open to the general public.

Guidance for events

Visit our dedicated web pages:

Notice period

Street events and promotions

For promotional activity or other activities with a very low impact, such as a small charity walk with no infrastructure, you must provide at least 10 working days’ notice.

For all other street events we need between six and 12 weeks' notice, depending on the location and impact of the event. These are events that include road closures and/or parking suspensions and will have an impact on residents and businesses in the area. For these events you may need other licenses or permissions; we can advise further once we have received your application.

Park events

For small events (under 499 attendees) in a park, we need at least six weeks' notice. For events that may need a licence, we need up to 12 weeks' notice.

For larger events (above 499 attendees) involving licensable activities, it may take longer to approve. Licensable activities are activities like sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment.

For more information on licensing requirements at events, visit our Events in parks page.

Approval process

To ensure any event in a public space is safe and well managed, the Council will consider the following: 

  • is the event or activity suitable in the proposed location?
  • will the event or activity be managed safely and under the terms and conditions of the event licence?
  • has enough notice been given to facilitate the event?
  • will the event benefit, and be supported by, the community and local businesses?
  • are there any existing event applications in the proposed location on the same day?
  • were previous events organised by the event organiser managed well?

Once you have submitted your application, the Events Team will review it and get in touch with you with further information. There may be licenses you need to apply and pay for, or other council procedures to be aware of.  

Council permissions can include:

  • hghways
  • street lighting
  • parking
  • street trading and enforcement
  • environmental health
  • licensing
  • planning
  • building control

All payments must be made by debit or credit card before the event takes place and before any licences can be issued.

Fees, charges and lead times for events from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026

The Events Team charges for considering, consulting upon and facilitating event applications. The charge is based on the type of event organiser or activity. 

Type of event organiser or activity:

  • community/civic: local community group, educational or voluntary organisation based in Kensington and Chelsea with less than £1million turnover, organising a not-for-profit activity in support of the community.
  • charity: registered charity, charitable incorporated organisation or CIC with less than £1million turnover, organising a not-for-profit activity.
  • commercial: organising an activity intended to generate a profit
  • private hire/corporate: includes weddings and awaydays
Permission Description of purpose Deadline Cost
Promotional Activity / Events on the Public Highway Promotional distribution for up to 7 days - includes up to two distributors per site ***At least 10 working days

½ day £220

1 day £484

rate for every extra day up to 7 days £161
Each additional distributor (per site, per day)

£36
Promotional distribution lasting longer than 7 days (must contact the special events team prior to submission) POA
Temporary street trading licence (per trader/stall) for commercial events and temporary markets £36
Planning 
and Building Control		 Planning or advertising permissions may be required, dependant on the activity. 
Building Control may advise that a Section 30 licence is required for any structures built for an event.
For more information, visit the planning and building control page		 Dependant on proposed activity POA
Temporary Events Notice (TEN’s) This is given by an individual (a premises user) and authorises the premises user to conduct one or more licensable activities (Licensing Act 2003) at the premises for no more than 96 hours. TEN’s can be used to authorise relatively small – scale ad hoc events held at the premises involving less than 499 people at one time. For more information, please visit the Temporary Event Notices page ***10 working days £21
Premises
License		 A Premises License - required for one or more licensable activity (Licensing Act 2003). For more information, please contact the Licensing Team, [email protected] 020 7341 5152. Recommend three months Dependent on the premises rate-able value
Road
Closure

Closures of a road for an event.

For more information, visit the Temporary traffic orders page
6 weeks (small streets) 12 weeks (if affected road is used as a TfL route).
 		 £2470
Parking bay suspension

15 working days, in writing, to suspend a resident, diplomatic, numbered disabled bay, car club or doctor's parking bay
5 working days, in writing, to suspend a pay-and-display or blue badge disabled bay.

Where chargeable days are not booked as cumulative, seven consecutive days are required between the end of an application and the start of a new one for the same location and by same applicant.

 ***Resident Bay 15 working days. P&D bays 5 working £72 per bay, per day

Events in Parks

Number of attendees

 Community/ Civic Charity Commercial Private hire/ corporate Deadline
Below 50
charged per day, includes 1 hour admin		 £54       At least 6 weeks for small events, 3 months for large events
50 – 250
charged at half day (4 hours) or full day (8 hours) does not include admin

Half - £59

Full - £117

Half £117

Full £236

Half £177

Full £353

Half £236

Full £472
251 – 499
charged at full day.		 £236 £472 £707 £942
500 – 999
charged at full day.		 £353 £707 £1061 £1414
1000 – 1999
charged at full day.		 £472 £942 £1414 £1885

2000 – 2999

charged at full day.		 £589 £1178 £1767 £2357
3000+ POA POA POA POA
Permission Description of purpose Cost
Ireton Lodge hire in Holland park Hire fee per day for maximum 999 attendees, one day minimum charge. £1414
Park trading permit Per stall/ trader for events with commercial sale of products. £30
Parks damage deposit Applicable to all park bookings. Refundable Deposit, 50% percent of the main Events fee. POA
Administration Fee Per hour, applied to all applications, unless noted as included (minimum charge one hour)
Community/Civic
Charity
Commercial
Private Hire/Corporate

£54

£107

£161

£214

Apply to hold an outdoor event

Contact us

If you have any questions, or need help with anything, contact us:

Last updated: 1 April 2025