Supplementary Agenda of Council Meeting

Council Meeting

13 March 2018

Item No: C0318 Item 13

Subject: Bangla New Year's Day Festival - Request to Hold Event at Tempe Reserve - Further Report

Prepared By: Cathy Edwards-Davis - Group Manager Trees, Parks and Sports Fields

Authorised By: Elizabeth Richardson - Deputy General Manager Assets and Environment

SUMMARY

Council has received an application for the Bangla New Year’s Day Festival to be held at Tempe Reserve. This event is not support at this location by staff, the NSW Police or RMS, in its current form, due to public safety concerns.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council:

1. Not sign Owner’s Consent on the application for the Bangla New Year’s Day Festival to be held at Tempe Reserve; and

2. Staff meets with the Event Organisers of the Bangla New Year’s Day Festival to provide assistance on locations and how to best manage the event for 2019.

BACKGROUND

Bangabandhu Porishad Sydney have lodged an application with Council to hold the Bangla New Year’s Day Festival at Tempe Reserve on Saturday 7 April 2018. The Bangla New Year’s Day Festival is a community fair to celebrate the forthcoming Bengali New Year.

The proposed event includes around 65 stalls selling cultural items, garments, souvenirs and food; performances of Bangladeshi songs and dances on a 9m x 7m stage; jumping castles and pony/ camel rides.

The proposed event bump in is Friday 6 April 2018 and bump out is Sunday 8 April 2018.

This event has been held annually at Tempe Reserve for a number of years. The number of event participants has increased over the past few years.

Council staff have serious concerns regarding the management of the Bangla Festival, particularly with regards to public safety. The Festival has outgrown the capacity of Tempe Reserve.

The matter was considered at the Council meeting on the 27 February 2018 where it was resolved:

THAT:

1. The General Manager arrange for councils traffic management staff to urgently meet with the organisers of the festival or their representatives to consider how their traffic management plan can be amended in order for the event to go ahead and report back to the next council meeting; and

2. The General Manager also investigate with the organisers if Council resources (for example: use of council bus, council staff on duty on the day etc.) will help ensure the traffic management can be successfully managed.

The previous Council report is attached.

The Mayor and staff met with the applicant and his traffic advisor on the 5 March 2018. At this meeting, staff reiterated the safety concerns which have been raised previously.

Council’s Traffic Management staff presented a possible option to the applicant for traffic management, should the event organisers implement a ticketed parking arrangement on the day. A ticketed parking system will improve parking management for the event. It is noted however, that there will still be congestion on the Princes Highway.

Additional Information

Following the meeting on the 5 March 2018, the applicant has submitted updated information to Council, which is attached.

The event management plan states:

As per Several meetings and limited parking available we have included a pre-purchase ticketing system, this will advise all attendees that parking is only available if pre-booked. We will have 300 spaces available for pre-booking. All ticket purchasers will be given an option to pre-book a FREE shuttle bus from several locations.

The event advertising, a copy of which is attached, states, “No Casual Parking at Event – Free Shuttles from Wolli Creek, Tempe and Sydenham.”

The traffic management plan includes an updated traffic control plan which shows temporary road closures at Smith Street, Barden Street, Fanning Street, Wentworth Street, Hart Street, Station Street, South Street, Old Street, Young Street, Bay Street and Holbeach Avenue. This updated traffic control plan is in accordance with discussions held between Council’s Traffic Management staff and the applicant’s traffic advisor to improve the management of the ticketed parking. However, there is a discrepancy between the traffic control plan and TMP. The TMP indicated that "Event participants whom do not hold a ticket will be directed to Old Street to exit back on to Princess Highway". The intention was to redirect non-ticket holders through the roundabout to exit back onto the highway via Holbeach Avenue.

Traffic and Parking Management

An extraordinary Traffic Committee meeting was held on the 8 March 2018 to discuss the event. The Committee resolved:

THAT the proposed Bangla New Year's Day Festival Event be not supported due to the issues raised by the RMS and NSW Police.

The minutes of the extraordinary Traffic Committee meeting are attached.

The NSW Police provided further written advice to Council on the 8 March 2018, which states:

I have had a look at the TMP. I have spoken with my managers regarding this event and the Police are still opposed to this event continuing to be held here due to insufficient parking for private vehicles attending this event. I understand that the council will not allow vehicles to be parked anywhere on grassed areas within the reserve….

Police will have to manage the intersection of Holbeach avenue Tempe, due to the congestion that will be caused both directions along the Princes highway during peak attendance times not to mention the pedestrian traffic at this intersection. The car parks will reach capacity. Holbeach access from the Highway will have to be closed at some point along with the right turn lane northbound. I can see no difference as to the outcome as we have had in previous years with this event. Our operations duty officer has previously spoken with the organiser to select a more suitable location such as Victoria Park via the City of Sydney better placed to cope with the numbers participating this location it would also have had the added effect of getting them to utilise public transport options to and from the event.

RMS provided further written advice to Council on the 8 March 2018, which states:

RMS does not support this event, and it has proven in past years that the location is not suitable for an event of this size based on safety and congestion risks.

Our reasons are as follows:

· Participants will most likely arrive by car, and will require parking, yet only 300 spaces are provided.

· The TCP states that vehicles without holding permits will be directed down Old St. Old St then provides access to the surrounding local road network, which is only proposed to be closed from the Highway. It appears that the applicant intends that additional vehicles will find parking in the surrounding streets, which are not suitable to cater for the expected number of vehicles.

· This event has previously had pedestrians crossing illegally across the Princes Highway, which significantly increases the risk of crashes involving pedestrians.

· Queuing from the Roundabout on Holbeach Ave will spill back onto the Princes Highway as seen in previous years. The TMP does not indicate how this will be mitigated. It states that only the signals will control traffic in and out of the site.

In it’s current form, RMS would also not consider the closure of the roads requested by the applicant, and would need to see evidence that all the above safety and congestion issues have been addressed.

Also, if the event was to be approved by Council, the safety impacts of the event without any closures would need to be considered.

Council’s Traffic Management Staff have advised that should Council resolve to approve the Event the following would need to occur:

· Council’s resolution would be forwarded (in a letter) to the RMS and Police representatives, noting Council’s resolution differs from the advice of RMS and the Police in not supporting the Event.

· Council must wait 14 days from the date of notification (in writing) to RMS and the Police and take no further action in the matter and await their advice whether an appeal will be lodged to the Regional Traffic Committee.

· This would then not allow Council to advertise any temporary road closures in accordance with the required 28 day advertising period (Roads Act 1999).

Regulatory Comments

As outlined in the previous report to Council, at the 2017 event, Council’s Regulatory Officers were in attendance at the event. The officers observed a number of issues and unsafe behaviour which was inconsistent with the approval. To provide Council with some greater clarity the observations included:

Traffic Management:

· Traffic Control Signage not installed on time

· The Variable Message Signs to direct approaching traffic were no updated

· Inadequate number of RMS qualified traffic controllers on site to manage traffic and placed in the wrong locations

· Stall operators leaving the event early causing unsafe vehicle and pedestrian conflicts

· Vehicles parked in Garden/Mulched areas as Bump In/Bump Out Traffic to the event site was practically uncontrolled

· NSW Police attended at Rangers request approx. 8:15pm, to control the Princes Highway and Holbeach Avenue, which was banked back beyond the bridge, possibly back to Arncliffe

Site Management:

· Additional Carnival Hire equipment was installed in excess of and outside of site plan

· There was a technical breach that the number of stalls exceeded the approval by one, however three stalls were four times the size permitted under the approval and 16 were two times the approved size

· Waste Management procedures were not implemented in accordance with the Waste Management Plan submitted to Council with litter and loose boxes everywhere not containerised

· Inadequate number of security staff on site to manage pedestrians

· The approval required a licensed electrician to be on site, this did not occur instead it was verbally confirmed onsite by the hire company that the person undertaking works was not a licenced electrician.

· The hours of operation for the event were approved between the hours of 10:00am to 10:00pm on Saturday 8 April 2017. At the event, the band kept playing until 10:47pm, with significant amount of people remaining onsite.

· Festival Hire staff and cleaners were still on site at 1pm on Sunday 9 April 2017 past the 12 noon cut off time.

Food Safety Issues:

· High risk food (dishes including meat) were prepared from home, frozen and then transported to the event and then warmed slowly

· Incorrect temperature control of high risk food (food not stored for sale at 60 degrees or above)

· Meat transported to site over a 1.5 hour travel distance in car not under temperature control – no Eski or stored at 5 degrees or below

· Food displayed without sneeze guards

Planning Comments

Notwithstanding the report recommendation, in the event Council determines to provide land owners consent, the event organiser is still required to submit and have approved an application under s68 of the Local Government Act 1993.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

At the 2017 festival, a number of Rangers were onsite to monitor the event. The costs associated with this were $6,000. Council’s waste staff also had to clean the park after the event.

Council has already provided considerable “in kind” support to the 2018 event through the provision of staff time to advise and assist the event organiser. Should the event proceed, similarly to 2017, Rangers will be onsite to monitor the event.

OTHER STAFF COMMENTS

Traffic Management, Regulatory and Development Advisory Services staff provided comments, which have been included within the report.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Nil

CONCLUSION

For the safety reasons outlined in the report by staff, the NSW Police and RMS, the Bangla New Year’s Day Festival is not supported at Tempe Reserve and an alternate venue needs to be found to properly cater for the traffic and parking impacts associated with this Event.

ATTACHMENTS

1.⇩	Bangla Festival - Previous Council Report
2.⇩	Minutes of Extra-Ordinary LTC 8 March 2018 - Item 1 - Holbeach Ave Tempe - Bengali New Years Day Fair in Tempre Reserve
3.⇩	Bangla Festival - UPDATED Event Management Plan
4.⇩	Bangla Festival - UPDATED Traffic Management Plan
5.⇩	Bangla Festival - NEW Event Advertisement
6.⇩	Bangla Festival - Site Plan
7.⇩	Bangla Festival - Site Parking Plan
8.⇩	Bangla Festival - Security and Traffic
9.⇩	Bangla Festival - Temporary Food Business Register Form
10.⇩	Bangla Festival - Inner West Application Form
11.⇩	Bangla Festival - Statutory Declaration
12.⇩	Bangla Festival - Festival Hire Equipment
13.⇩	Bangla Festival - RD Cleaning Service

Council Meeting

13 March 2018

Festival Hire (N.S.W.) Pty Ltd ABN12164851414

PO BOX 38

STRATHFIELD SOUTH NSW 2136

Ph: 1300 761 799

Fax: 02 9647 1091

Mobile: 0405 323 172

Email: david@festival.net.au

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERNS

We hereby certify that we have conducted a business relationship with Gausul Alam for the past 11 years.

This year will provide the infrastructure for the Bangabandhu Porishad Sydney again at Tempe Recreational Reserve.

Our organization provides equipment and services in the outdoor event industry.

We are proud to have many local councils as part of our cliental base. We are fully aware of all compliance requirements required by council to stage events in their shires.

We can confidently endorse Gausul Alam as a reliable, efficient event coordinator. At all material times we have found him to adhere to event scheduling with regards to bumping and out of infrastructure. He has demonstrated an awareness of the environmental and community impact of his events.

We will once again be supplying equipment to The Bangla New Year’s Festival at the Tempe Recreational Reserve on 7^TH April 2018

This equipment includes:

Food, Food preparation stalls, & merchandising stalls

Stages & stage coverings

All compliance equipment: food prep stalls with skrim, floors

Tables & chairs

All power requirements, generators, leads, distribution boxes

Cool rooms

Prayers tents, info tent, & major sponsor’s tents

Additional toilets & disabled facilities

Hand wash basins, Utensil wash basins