Agenda item

The Committee considered the annual review of activities carried out by Worcestershire County Council (WCC) Directorate of Public Health Emergency Planning team to discharge statutory duties under the Safety at Sports Grounds (SatSGs) and related legislation during 2017/2018.

The report set out details of the Safety Advisory Groups, details of the safety certificates and Safety Advisory Groups findings for Sixways Stadium – Worcester Warriors RFC, Aggborough Stadium – Kidderminster Harriers FC, The Grandstand – Worcester Racecourse, and the Victoria Ground – Bromsgrove Sporting and Worcester City FC, other event safety advice and the Regulatory (Fire Safety) Order.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         A Committee site visit to the Sixways Stadium and the Victoria Ground would be welcomed. Charlie Heritage indicated that if possible he would arrange a visit to both grounds on the same day depending on fixtures. Worcester Warriors would not be holding matches next season on Friday nights due work taking place on junction 6 of the motorway

·         In response to a query, Charlie Heritage explained that Counter Terrorism Plans and Disorder Plans were not new but it was intended that specific clauses be included in the safety certificate in the future to be clear as to how these plans would be incorporated

·         In response to a concern expressed about issues experienced with the turnstiles at the Victoria Ground, Charlie Heritage commented that the aged turnstiles were unable to count the number of spectators entering the ground and therefore total attendance was not known until half-time. This was not a problem during the regular season matches which were well under capacity however for big cup matches it could be a problem. These matches were therefore made all-ticket

·         Did the SAG provide advice for the larger cycling events taking place in the county? Charlie Heritage responded that the SAG provided one-off advice for events taking place in the county eg. the Velo bike event and the Worcester Carnival

·         Was a grading system applied to the stadia to give an indication of the level of safety standards? Charlie Heritage commented that there was no form of grading criteria as such. Discussions had taken place at regional SAG meetings to establish general trends and the only trend identified had been the use of flares. Every attempt was made to implement national safety standards. All the grounds in the county offered a reasonable level of crowd safety

·         Was there a formal procedure for the inspection of grounds? Charlie Heritage indicated that he visited each venue at least once a year however if there was a particular issue of concern, he would revisit it

·         Was one visit a year sufficient and was it forewarned or unannounced? Charlie Heritage responded that his visit generally coincided with the busiest match of the season so that the facility could be observed at full capacity and therefore it was not necessary to undertake an unannounced visit.

RESOLVED that:

a)    The 2017/18 Annual Review of activities carried out by the Council to manage and implement the Safety at Sports Grounds legislation be noted;

b)    It be noted that the Council has successfully met its statutory duty in respect of Safety at Sports Grounds legislation during 2017/18; and

c)    The intention to include in all of the safety certificates the need for a Counter Terrorism Plan and a Disorder Plan be noted.