Management Agreement – Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions
Management Agreement between Forestry Commission and the Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions provider.
Introduction
General
Cannock outdoor wedding receptions describes the product that we require and is not a brand name.
This document sets out the management regulations for the establishment, day to day operation and review of Cannock outdoor wedding receptions. These management regulations along with the key performance indicators (KPIs) form part of the Licence and will be used to monitor the Forestry Commission (FC) expectations.
These regulations describe more fully than the Licence, the practical day to day operating principles, procedures and policies required for the effective day to day provision of Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions. Furthermore, these management regulations will form the basis of a standardised review process which is detailed in the Key Performance Indicator document.
These management regulations will be reviewed regularly and may be adapted or amended with consent of the licensee.
Cannock Chase Forest
Cannock Chase Forest is situated within the county of Staffordshire and is approximately 20 miles north of Birmingham. Cannock Chase is an AONB and is 26 square miles in size attracting around 2.3 million day visits per year. The Forestry Commission manages 4571 hectares (>40% of the total) of woodland and open space within the AONB.
The Forestry Commission also manages a high quality visitor attraction called Birches Valley forest centre. The Forest centre hosts around 350,000 visitors each year with many people enjoying the recreational facilities which include adventurous play, orienteering, off road cycling and walking trails.
The site hosts a number of third party businesses including café, cycle centre, Go Ape high wires courses and Segways.
Birches Valley has developed further as a visitor attraction offering a wide variety of activities and events including Forest Live concert programme and Christmas tree Sales.
Located around 1 mile from the Birches Valley Forest Centre there is a large lightly wooded open space known locally as “Tackeroo”. This site is used for a variety of activities such as organised sporting events, camping, theatre, and private functions. The site benefits from having hard standing for parking and drinking water provisions, allowing large events to take place without impacting visitors to the nearby Forest Centre. This is the site that is being made available for this Cannock Outdoor Weddings opportunity.
If any additional sites are developed and / or become available (within a 30 minute drive of the site) during this license period, then the Licensee will have the first option to operate the site under the terms of this agreement.
Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions Offer
Cannock outdoor wedding receptions should be operated on the basis of the following criteria and ethos.
Bookings and confirmation of dates
The Licensee will be responsible for the following
· Taking booking directly from customers to hold outdoor ‘party’ or ‘festival style’ wedding receptions and similar celebrations
· Bookings shall not be confirmed with the customer until availability of the venue on that date has been confirmed by the FC site contact.
· Booking confirmation with the FC will require a deposit. The deposit will be the Site fee for a one day event or the first day’s Site fee for a multi-day event.
· Deposits must be received at least six weeks before the event is due to take place.
Late bookings (less than six weeks before the event is due to take place) may not be considered.
The deposit will not be refunded if the event is cancelled due to extreme severe weather or due to the actions of the FC (e.g. emergency forestry operations as a result of severe weather or disease control) or that the site is deemed dangerous by the FC.
The deposit will not be refunded in full if the Licensee or their client cancel the event:
i. Six weeks or more in advance - half the deposit will be refunded
ii. Less than six weeks before the event - the whole deposit shall be kept by the FC
Enquiries received by the Forestry Commission from private individuals regarding outdoor woodland wedding celebrations or similar celebrations will be referred to the Licensee.
Licences and documentation
The Licensee will be responsible for the following
· Applying for, the cost of, and the compliance with any required licences or permits will be the responsibility of the Licensee.
· Obtaining any planning or other necessary consents.
· Providing the FC site contact with a full written proposal of the event including maps at least six weeks before the event takes place.
· Collating and making available to the FC site contact a pack of health and safety documentation from all subcontractors and suppliers and risk assessments/ method statements for set up/ take down and the event, including an emergency evacuation plan.
· Collating and making available to the FC site contact documentation from caterers and bar suppliers including local authority registration, HACCP, risk assessments and public liability insurance, gas and electricity safety certificates
Insurance
The Licensee will be responsible for the following
· Public and Employers liability insurance of a minimum £5 million.
· Events insurance of an amount suitable to cover cancellation of the whole event including refunding the client, and contractors as required, and paying the deposit/ fees to the FC detailed in this permission.
· Engaging contractors and suppliers who hold a minimum of £5 million Public Liability insurance
Infrastructure, contractors and staff
The Licensee will be responsible for the following
· Provide all necessary temporary infrastructure including power and water as necessary.
· All infrastructure and equipment (including but not limited to marquees, toilets, catering unit) must be visually well presented an in a well maintained, clean and tidy order.
· All infrastructure and equipment (including but not limited to marquees, toilets, catering unit) must be specifically constructed or professionally adapted for purpose.
· Provide all event staff including but not limited to set up, crew, security and car parking stewards.
· Provide a designated manager as a key point of contact for the FC on site.
· Engage competent contractors and suppliers who hold a minimum of £5 million Public Liability insurance, and have the necessary technical and professional qualifications and experience.
· Engage local contractors where possible and appropriate
The Site
The Licensee will be responsible for ensuring the following
· The outdoor ‘party’ or ‘festival style’ wedding receptions and similar celebration are staged in the area specified and access to the site is over the specified routes as shown on appendices 1 & 2 on the attached licence.
· Any deviation from the area or access routes is authorised in writing by the FC site contact.
· The Licensee or nominated staff member is on site to supervise set up, with a particular emphasis on protecting the safety of the public.
· Security/ guarding, including overnight security is provided.
· All equipment and litter brought onto FC land by the Licensee, participants and spectators, is cleared to the satisfaction of the FC site contact
· Forest warning signs and instructions from FC staff are heeded, that areas where work is in progress are avoided. The forest is a working environment.
· Vehicles owned by the Licensee, his representatives, participants and spectators only use the access routes and areas specified by the FC site contact.
· Any damage occurring is notified to the FC site contact as soon as possible and within 48 hours or occurrence.
To gain sole use of the site at the time of the event the Licensee will require a CROW closure additional administration fee will apply.
The Event
The Licensee will be responsible for ensuring the following
· Outdoor ‘party’ or ‘festival style’ wedding receptions and similar celebrations are to be private events for invited guests, not open to public or casual attendance.
· A maximum of 150 guests or 200 people in total (including staff and contractors) on site for any one event
· The Licensee or nominated staff member, as the Organiser, takes an active part in the event and is entirely responsible for discipline, safety and overall control of participants.
· Alcohol service or sales at the event is authorised by a Personal Licence Holder and a ‘Challenge 25’ scheme is in operation.
· The area and the route(s) are safe and suitable for the event subject to FC advice and FC tree inspection.
· Public rights of way are not impeded.
· Noise and time curfews are adhered to.
Safety
The Licensee will be responsible for ensuring the following
· Use of camp fires, candles, pyrotechnics, fireworks, and any other naked flames are agreed in advance with the FC site contact. These may be restricted in relation to the fire risk at the time of the event. Please note fire risk status may change at short notice.
· Sky lanterns are not be allowed under any circumstances.
· Assessing and providing adequate first aid facilities.
· Advising the FC within 24 hours of the end of the event of any accident to a participant, spectator, or third party which arises as a result of the exercise of this Licence.
Extreme Weather
The FC will make all reasonable endeavours to keep Cannock Forest open. However, in extreme weather conditions (e.g. extremely windy conditions); an outbreak of any notifiable disease; other emergency or dangerous situations the FC may need to close Cannock to the public. This decision will relate to closure of the forest area and will rest solely with the FC. The FC decision in these instances will be final and does not replace the need for the licensee to make their own decisions to cancel based on their own risk assessment. For example it may be that the threshold for cancelation is lower for the licensee due to the limitations of infrastructure such as marquees .The FC will ensure that the Licensee is consulted prior to closure where reasonably possible. The Licensee is advised to obtain in advance the extreme weather closure guidance document available from the FC site and also the licensee may wish to insure against cancellation due to bad weather.
Marketing and Promotion
The outdoor wedding receptions product should be branded by the company holding the licence. The product MUST include the word woodland or forest in the name to ensure it is relevant and bespoke to the forest environment. The branding will only be used by the Licensee at events relating to and for the duration of the Licence for Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions.
All outdoor wedding reception sites across England form part of the Forestry Commission’s outdoor wedding receptions portfolio and will be promoted as such on the Forestry Commission website.
Application of the brand (both FC and Cannock outdoor wedding receptions local branding) must be agreed with the FC site contact prior to being used. This is common across the estate and reflects the importance that the FC attributes to its brands and identities.
The Licensee will establish a web presence for the event which is agreed with the FC site contact and consult with the FC regarding use of FC logos.
Promotion and advertising will be the responsibility of the Licensee. Should signage, leaflets, other marketing ‘tools’ etc appear on site without the knowledge or agreement of the FC, then the FC reserves the right to remove them without notice to the Licensee
The Licensee shall be able to display and distribute leaflets on site where appropriate facilities exist, and will be promoted by the FC in marketing and promotion opportunities as relevant and appropriate.
General
The relevant FC site contact will ensure that all forest district staff are notified of the licence and the approved area to be used.
The Licensee will ensure that the Forestry Commission Byelaws are observed, except as expressly authorised by this Agreement. The Bylaws are attached to the Licence at appendix 6 and any failure to observe the Bylaws may result in termination of the licence.
In particular the Licensee will ensure:
· there is no smoking or the lighting of fires
· all gates are left in the position as found
· reasonable care is taken to prevent disturbance to wild fauna and flora and to agricultural livestock
· compliance with any instructions issued by the Forest District Manager or his authorised representative
· no forest roads are obstructed
7 COWR/Can/15-16 Management Agreement | 11/12/2015