Agenda item

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public can ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

The Chairman shall determine the number of questions to be tabled at a particular meeting in order to limit the time for questions and answers to half an hour.

Three questions have been received on notice from members of the public.

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public could ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

The following questions had been received, on notice, from members of the public:

Question One

From Mary Nolan of Stones Green to Councillor Stock OBE, Leader of the Council:

“I am a retired pensioner and I live on the Stones Green 'red route' of the proposed Tendring Motor Rally.  It is not clear that the MSA insurance policy sent to me for perusal covers damage to me or my property, as promised by the event organisers.  It would appear to be a standard business insurance for professional indemnity against their negligence, not for speeding competition driver error.  In fact, the drivers are required by organiser to sign disclaimers for any accident or damage and they have no requirement at all to be insured on the competition routes where they will be speeding. This, despite European directive that the 'VNUK' law should be applied and that they should now in fact have cover for all circumstances.  Claiming from the MSA in the event of a competitor accident does not therefore appear to be possible when the drivers are all but uninsurable when speeding along the red routes.

Given that the Council has a duty of care to its residents, how does the Council plan to protect property from damage and from future substantially increased insurance premiums for the significantly higher risk of living on a racing track, other than to ensure that the event does not go ahead?”

Question Two

From Caroline Lindsay of Little Oakley to Councillor Stock OBE, Leader of the Council:

“I strongly believe that there is a very grave national security concern surrounding the staging of the Tendring rally event on the 22nd April or similar events that follow in the future.  Neither the drivers nor the marshals are required to be criminal or mental health checked and anyone can enrol as a marshal with an hour's online training and no formal identification. The policing will largely be taken on by these lay people.  A car could easily be maliciously driven at high speed into the crowds by an aberrant driver on the day.

Given that the Council has a duty of care to its residents, how does the Council plan to fully protect them from malicious attack other than to ensure that the event does not go ahead?”

Question Three

From Neil O’Hare of Little Oakley to Councillor Stock OBE, Leader of the Council:

“I am concerned about the safety controls for this event in relation to the marshalling of the event. I presume there is a Risk Assessment that the organisers have provided for the rally, in order for this to be "Suitable and Sufficient" the Risk Assessment would, I expect, include the minimum number of marshals required to safely police the event, their locations, duties and level of qualification required. As the event is stretched over a considerable portion of the day it would seem reasonable that there would be sufficient additional marshals to relieve people who have been at their posts for long periods or who need to step away for other reasons. My concern is that I have seen comments in the public press reported as being made by the organisers stating that "between 500 and 1000" marshals (presumably suitably trained and registered as appropriate) would be available. 

This is obviously a wide range and gives no indication of what the absolute safe minimum of marshals is. Presumably the Risk Assessment is explicit about this. 

In relation to these concerns, my question is as follows: 

Has TDC had access to the Risk Assessment and has this been examined by a suitable person who is qualified to comment as to its suitability and sufficiency? Does the Risk Assessment include a minimum number of marshals required to safely run the event and what would happen if the level of marshals available fell below the minimum level before or during the event?” 

Councillor Stock replied collectively to all three questions as follows:

“It is important to make clear from the outset that the car rally is not a Tendring District Council event; we didn’t propose the idea, we have not organised it and we are not running it.

The Council has a role as part of the Safety Advisory Group and to provide advice to the event organisers in connection with public events given our record of successfully running the Clacton Air Show, International Cycling competitions, beach activities and other similar large gatherings.

The Safety Advisory Group is a multi-agency group which is formed to provide advice to organisers of significant events, this is any event where it is likely that more than 499 people may be involved, and to advise them where any formal permission may be required.

Depending on the event, different organisations may have a more prominent role in providing advice and a different service may chair the group.  The Safety Advisory Group will almost always have significant input from all blue light services which will provide advice in respect of areas as diverse as minor first aid provision to counter terrorism measures.

The Safety Advisory Group has no power to prevent an event taking place but clearly any organiser which does not heed the advice of the Safety Advisory Group would be in some difficulty if there was a problem with the event

The Safety Advisory Group requests the event organiser to submit an event management plan ahead of the event which shows that the event organiser is cognisant of Health & Safety, security, health, food hygiene, safeguarding, counter terrorism risks etc. and is putting in place mitigating measures – the Safety Advisory Group can provide advice to the organiser in respect of risks if this is required.

I understand that the event organisers have attended several Safety Advisory Group meetings and as far as can be determined is meeting all requirements being requested by the Blue Light services.

Therefore, I can reassure you that suitably qualified agencies have provided advice to the event organisers in respect of their risk assessments and operational plans.

As I am sure that you will appreciate much of the information in respect of the operation and organisation of the event is not available to the public for fairly obvious reasons.

The Motor Sport Association is the governing body for four-wheel motorsport in this country and is responsible for authorising and administering motorsport across the UK.

The Motor Sport Association arranges third party liability insurance cover for all events, cover being up to £65 million per claim.

The Highways authority and the event organisers will survey, record and photograph all assets along the route to ensure that no asset is left in a worst condition after the event than it was before the event – any damage will be the responsibility of the event organisers to make good.

This is the first event of its kind to be held on public roads in England and we are advised that such is the interest amongst motor sport enthusiasts that the organisers have been able to restrict entries to only those who have obtained the highest level of motor sport license.  As such I think that it would be reasonable to assume that they are going to be well- qualified and highly-skilled drivers.

We understand that no permission has been granted by the Motor Sport Association for any further such events this year and that the Motor Sport Association will review the Tendring event prior to granting permission for any future such events so the chances of anyone living on a race track is highly improbable.

I can equally reassure you that as with any event which takes place within Tendring we will be reviewing this event in detail but, as I am sure that you may be aware, many events take place, organised by a range of organisations across Tendring, some of which do not have our support, nor the support of other agencies but there is little that can practically be done to prevent them taking place. 

I am also advised by the Cabinet member for Highways at Essex County Council, that the road closures for the Motor Rally event have been granted and all the relevant information regarding these is publicly available on the website www.roadworks.org. I understand that while there is no legislative requirement to consult or advertise the closures, a consultation with all residents and Parish Councils has been undertaken by Chelmsford Motor Club, however, there is no planning permission required or any event licensing required to hold an event of this nature.  

I am assured that the correct legal procedure and requirements have been followed by all parties involved to enable this event to safely take place. 

A resident’s handbook will be published and delivered to all residents living on the route or close by giving detailed information about the event and instructions on how to arrange access to properties as well as other useful information.

I do recognise and accept that motor sport is not to everyone’s taste and that roads being closed can be annoying and disruptive, but I also recognise that this is a district where tourism is a vital part of our economy and where we struggle to attract traditional businesses due to our rural and coastal geography. So, I will continue to support and encourage events that offer the opportunity to put Tendring on the map, to show that we are innovative, creative and open for business, and above all which can contribute to our local economy and ultimately help to create much-needed jobs and employment and I would urge all residents to do the same.”