Fat as Butter FAQs
Is Wickham Park suitable for the event?
The event is permissible under the Sportsland Plan of Management. It accommodates the proposed capacity of 12,000 to 15,000.
Attendees can be predominantly accommodated in large areas of clear space assisting with crowd control and minimizing the potential for damage to park infrastructure and plantings.
It is close to existing rail and bus networks and close to several major arterial roads creating ease of departure from the event.
The potential issues that will arise from staging the event at Wickham Park are the same as those applicable to similar events staged in other parks in the city and will be managed in an identical fashion with modification suitable to the locality.
What category does Wickham Park come under?
Wickham Park is classified part community land (land owned and managed by Council) and part Crown Land (Council as Trustee). The land in Wickham Park is categorised in accordance with the Local Government Act as sportsground.
Does Wickham Park have a separate Plan of Management?
Wickham Park forms part of the Sportsland Plan of Management. This plan covers all sportslands across the city. There is no specific Plan of Management for Wickham Park.
Is there a local approvals policy for Wickham Park?
The approval policy for events is covered in the Parks Booking Policy.
Council’s Parks Booking Policy approved 2003 directly assists Council Officers and customers in effective management of bookings in parks.
If Wickham were to be approved as a venue for the event known as ‘Fat as Butter ‘ what occupancy agreement would be required?
Council would issue a licence for the event with specific conditions based on the information supplied through the application to stage an event. The licence provides approval for the event with consideration of specific factors and conditions;
- Public Liability
- Fees and Charges
- Road Closures
- Applicant and event details
- Electrical
- Amplified sound
- Amusement devices
- Food and alcohol
- Waste management
- Temporary structures.
Is there an inventory of parks such as Wickham Park which are considered suitable for events like ‘ Fat as Butter’
The Sportsland Plan of Management lists District Sport grounds and one of the goals is to promote the use of Regional and District Sportslands for sports, special events and tourism. The requirements for major events in most circumstances is a large open space area, power supply, public facilities and the suitability to erect other structures such as marquees and stages. In most cases District level sportsgrounds have these facilities and the space to handle large numbers of people with appropriate infrastructure.
Why not stage the event at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre/Showgrounds or other similar site?
Council has no jurisdiction over other potential event sites that are not under its control and is therefore unable to influence an event promoter’s decision to use those sites or not.
How are decisions made about these sorts of events?
Applications are made to Newcastle City Council’s events team and are considered by the Interagency Events Consultation Group (IECG).
Will the General Manager make the final decision about whether this event can be held?
Yes, due to the size of the event. Councillors have also been briefed on this event and other major events in the city. However, under normal application processes the manager has delegated authority to sign off on these events.
Does anyone in particular head the Interagency Events Consultation Group (IECG)?
Council is the driver behind the IECG to ensure all our major stakeholders including Police, Railcorp, State Buses, Taxies, Road and Traffic Authority, Hunter New England Health and internal council technical specialists have the opportunity for input. This allows approval across agencies and helps to provide focused feedback and direction in licensing the large amount of events/activities that are held in the Newcastle area. This means a collaborative approach is used effectively when large events are proposed.
Prior to the last Fat as Butter festival the IECG planning process was used. We also called the group together after the last event to capture issues and outline improvements for any future events.
Were any other sites considered?
A number of sites were considered and assessed based on
- the ability to secure the site
- closeness to public transport
- distance from residences and ability to control acoustic travel
- slope and topography (for safety, crowd control and fencing).
Also sites were considered on the basis of being able to safely accommodate large numbers of people and their alignment with any Plan of Management.
Other sites considered were: Camp Shortland, Foreshore Park, King Edward Park, and No1 & 2 Sportsgrounds. Wickham Park/ Passmore Oval ranked the highest when considering all factors listed above.
Walsh Point was being considered but the site was in the process of being transferred to the Newcastle Port Corporation (NPC) for rezoning for port related purposes and therefore unsuitable.
How will the issues concerning responsible service of alcohol be managed at the event?
The sale of alcohol at the event will be undertaken by a licensee approved by the Department of Liquor Gaming and Racing.
A comprehensive Responsible Service of Alcohol Plan will be developed and implemented in consultation with the Newcastle Police Local Area Command.
Consultation with the Hamilton Liquor Accord and other potentially impacted licensees will be conducted through the Newcastle Police Local Area Command in order to put in place strategies to address responsible service of alcohol in surrounding areas before and after the event.
What measures will be put in place to address residents’ concerns about anti-social behaviour and vandalism in the adjoining localities, particularly at the conclusion of the event?
A comprehensive patron arrival and departure plan will be developed and implemented taking into consideration the input of the residents and information compiled from similar events previously staged in the city.
This plan will be developed in conjunction with Newcastle Police Local Area
Command and will include appropriate deployment levels of both private security personnel and fee for service Police personnel.
The plan will be closely monitored for effectiveness during the course of the event and resources on-site and in the locality will be redeployed to meet any concerns.
What noise control measures will be put in place?
Acceptable noise levels will be determined by Council and will be monitored at several points adjacent to nearby residences during the course of the event.
This monitoring will be interactive with communication from the monitoring locations direct to the event managers to ensure that appropriate adjustments to sound levels are implemented.
Will there be traffic disruption?
A traffic management plan is currently being developed and will take into account the concerns of residents.
It is anticipated that disruption will be minimal consisting predominantly of measures to ensure safe entry and exit of vehicles that are servicing the event and to put in place measures to accommodate temporary bus zones and safe drop off/pick up points.
Will there be on-site parking?
No on-site parking will be provided for patrons but a ‘Park and Ride” shuttle service from off-site parking locations will be implemented.
The event actively promotes the use of public transport as the best option for patrons.
Additional public transport services will be put in place to service the event including free event trains with shuttle buses from appropriate locations
Issues concerning parking in the surrounding streets will be addressed in development of the event management plan taking into consideration the input of the residents.
Who is paying for the costs of the event?
All costs associated with the event will be borne by the event promoters.
An appropriate fee for the use of the site will be determined in accordance with Council’s Parks Booking Policy.
In addition, a substantial bond will be paid by the event promoters prior to the event to cover the costs of any damage.
