Outdoor events are expected to raise more than £600,000 for Brighton and Hove City Council this year.
A report to the council’s cabinet said that event income had increased dramatically, with a target of £611,420 despite no significant increase in the number of events since 2017.
Brighton and Hove charges site hire fees at a similar rate to Manchester, using the Local Authorities Event Organisers Group benchmarking.
But the report said: “In 2024, an estimated £30,000 of income will be missed due to the city’s high fee position.”
The money comes from about 200 events and more than 400 instances of filming across Brighton and Hove over a year.
A quarter of the annual income is generated in July and half of the revenue, about £300,000, comes from just 10 annual events.
In October, resident Derek Wright presented a petition with 322 signatures calling for improved discussions with residents and businesses who are directly affected by events in Kemp Town, Valley Gardens, Preston Park, Hove Lawns and Hove Park.
The report to the cabinet said: “There is a limit on the use of green space of a maximum 28 days annually.
“To increase scrutiny on the appropriate use of spaces, a new set of equality impact assessments are being carried out on all regularly used event locations to identify key infrastructure and pressures in and around specific locations.
“These assessments will form part of all new event packs and must be referenced in all event delivery paperwork supplied by event producers.”
A programme of outdoor events is due to go before councillors on Thursday (14 November).
Next year’s events include the Women’s Rugby World Cup and associated events, 10 festivals and more than 150 community and promotional events expected to bring an economic benefit of £120 million to the area.
The cabinet is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Thursday. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
Better make Madeira Drive suitable for the Speed Trials again then. I dread to think how many millions they have lost through their persecution of transport and when most vintage transport is considerably greener than todays.
Thanks for this as I still not received the transcript of the reply from Cllr Robbins . I want give them feedback on their reply as I really didnt understand it and was not feeling 100% at the time
Great to hear that EIAs will be carried out. And we hope to see a consistent approach to event accessibility and adjustments made where events impact on essential parking for disabled people. We really need a good alternative plan for when Madeira Drive is closed for an event, as in doing so, the disabled bays become inaccessible which shuts disabled people out of being able to join others at the event.