Starting up a new spin meet

ok.. i've been lurking in the fire jam out of control thread trying to find a solution for being able to start a meet, and searched for possible answers..

a few of us meet in the local park in perth (scotland) and every time we have, we've been stopped by the police, and told to finish our burn and move on. We tried to sort it by following their advice and going to the local council, but they want us to provide £1 million in public liability insurance. Which is totally unlikely as we are a small number, and can't afford that kind of money. There were other things they wanted from us as well like a safety check, which is fair enough, but we can't see it happening anymore. Did anyone else starting up a meet in the UK have any encounters like this? What did you do? Or is it just perth and kinross council have nothing better to do?

There aren't any other accessible places for us to spin, but we're going to get in touch with a local school to try and use some of their ground. Not sure how it will pan out though. The other option is to branch under a big street performers company, work for them and ask them if we could use their insurance to spin in the park with. But sounds like a lot of hassle to get a relaxed, non-performance spin meet!

Any ideas, info and stories would be appreciated.

Yea, £1m is actually pretty low cover by council standards, most want £5m. Saying that, it will cost you a couple hundred quid to get yourselves covered. You will need group insurance to cover everyone which aint cheap.

To try to be a little more helpful though, you could write a risk assessment for the area you spin in (and stick to it) then when the police turn up, show it to them, tell them how you have been in contact with the council and are operating a safe and controlled meeting. Chances are they wont ask you to show them insurance on the spot and mentioning the council will often placate police officers.
Im not suggesting you lie to them, just demonstrate that you are being responsible, safe and doing no harm. We have done this at meets before, and while we are insured, we have never had to mention it, let alone prove it. Oh and mentioning you are a trained professional goes a long way too (assuming thats a reasonable statement).

aaaaaannnnd nowhere else in scotland asks for that sort of cover for a fire meet. drop me a pm for a number and i'll chat to you about it

smiles

R

spanner, i meant providing £1 million WORTH of PLI, its still a fair whack for a small amount of us having a wee spin for fun..:) (should be free dammit!)

Sandy, we have shown responsibilty to the police before, and they've said we look like we know what we're doing but "the park is the councils property and we need to get the viable documents and licenses" but definitely a workable idea thanks man

Rob, PM on way

I can't give any specific advice, since I'm in the States, but I am just beginning to look for venues for fire in my area, since there are none. So far I've just been given the run-around (talk to this person or that department, make sure you see what this office requires, &c) but I'm of the opinion that it's best to obey all the local regulations and not get on anybody's bad side or risk doing it without the official stamp of approval, lest the powers that be make future get-togethers impossible. That said so far everybody in my area has been helpful, it just seems more like nobody wants it to be his head on a platter should something go wrong. At least in my area it isn't necessarily whether you're responsible, or actively taking safety precautions, just whether you have a general OK to do what to the municipality appears to be a somewhat dangerous activity on public ground.

Best of luck, let us know how it turns out!

Clavey, is that where the BJC was in 2005? If not, it might be worth getting in touch with the guys who organised it and ask who they were renting the space from, maybe that's a potential spinning spot. Good luck!

Our Group is technically a uni society (but i think only three people involved are actually at uni!) We can spin inside using the venue there but no fire and we are not covered for fire by the uni insurance. If we do have a fire jam we have an 'unofficial' meet on the uni amphitheartre. We just say 'hey we're (persoanlly) doing some fire on x day - if you want to come you can' but we make absolutley clear that it' nothing to do with the uni and that we are all resposible for ourselves.

Ovbs we look out for one another and we are all resposible people taking care of safety etc and who we let use our toys.

I dunno if this might be a possibility for you guys??

Birgit - In Perth? I'm not sure, have only been living in the area for about a year and a half.. just searched it though, sounds like it was in bellfield sports centre, which is on the north insh, so same area but inside. It could be a possibility to have an indoor meet, but I'd prefer to do it outside (with fire! and drums! )

Toobie again a possibility if we were to get in touch with the sports centre and see what they thought of it. The other option we had was to get in touch with a local school to use a part of their field they don't use. Still waiting on our friend getting back to us with numbers of who to speak to about it.

Thanks for your thoughts guys have a few ideas to go on now..

We did have a small fire space where the tents were... I think it was a playing field or something. Sorry I can't be more use, my memory isn't what it used to be Though if it's the same area maybe it's where you already are playing. It was just across the road from the sports centre, I remember that much.

yeah totally. apparently the north insh is the same as the south insh for policing, but its definitely worth getting in touch with the sports centre and seeing if we could use their space. cheers birgit!