By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Rushcliffe Borough Council has backed its £3,000 spend on preparations for a Take That concert at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
The world-famous boy band performed for two nights at the world-famous City Ground in May as part of the group’s ‘This Life’ tour, and more than 20,000 fans attended each gig.
The concerts were the first of their kind to take place at the football stadium since R.E.M. performed in July 2005.
A response to a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) now shows the Conservative-run council spent £3,269.78 preparing for the event.
The money was spent on preparations including anti-terrorism presentations, street cleaning, and several meetings to determine the event’s impact.
Some of the largest spends went on noise impact monitoring, while almost £960 was spent on a meeting of a Safety Advisory Group; which is a forum to discuss and advise on public safety.
A Rushcliffe Borough Council spokeswoman said the event boosted the local economy and attracted almost 60,000 people to the local area.
“The council has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and welfare of everyone attending and working at large-scale events such as the Take That concerts that took place at the City Ground earlier this year,” the spokeswoman said.
“This includes multi-agency Safety Advisory Group meetings, food and health safety compliance checks and noise nuisance assessments, which included out-of-hours checks to monitor noise outside the ground ensuring that these events do not unduly disturb nearby residents.
“Our teams also supported the club and event organisers to ensure so many could enjoy the concerts, aided by our Streetwise team clearing up after both events, ensuring the West Bridgford area remained clean and tidy.
“The events attracted nearly 60,000 residents and visitors to the area, increasing the profile of the City Ground as a multi-use venue and boosting the local economy through the Borough’s fantastic hospitality, leisure and retail businesses.”
The growing costs of such events prompted a review into how much the council charges larger organisations for a premises licence.
After the event, the council began a review into the premises licence fees on the City Ground and nearby Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, where the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival and Robbie Williams tribute act performance were held earlier this year.
A premises licence is typically issued by a council so a business, club or organisation can sell alcohol and host late-night entertainment and refreshments.
The council had been charging both Nottingham Forest Football Club and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, which owns Trent Bridge, an annual £350 premises licence fee.
Following the review, the council decided Nottingham Forest and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club will now be charged £8,350 and £2,350 per year respectively.
In October Geoff Carpenter, head of service for public protection, told the LDRS: “There is a huge amount of work in negotiating the safety of these events to make sure these events run smoothly, and there is a cost to the council.
“The review took place after the Take That concert and the increased fee was now appropriate.”
