Plans For A Ugandan Festival To Be Held In Havering To Be Debated By Councillors.

The Metropolitan Police has pushed back against plans for a large-scale, African-themed festival in Havering, writes local democracy reporter Sebastian Mann.

An application has been submitted for Uganda Festival to go ahead in the Damyns Hall Aerodrome field, in Upminster, on 6th September.

In their application, the organisers describe it as a cultural celebration “showcasing Ugandan music, dance, food, fashion and arts,” with a view to promoting the country’s heritage and “fostering community engagement”.

It will run from 12pm until 10pm, with the live bands performing until 9pm. Standard tickets are priced at £25, with VIP packages available at £250 and £500.

In order for the event to go ahead, the festival will need to be granted a temporary event notice by Havering Council’s licensing committee.

The organisers have put a limit of 499 attendees, including staff, but police have challenged them over their advertising.

Online promotions for the festival describe it as being “bigger, louder and better” than its initial plans for Merton, which would have seen 5,000 people attending, the police say.

A listing on the ticket vendor site Eventbrite shows 13 acts performing over the ten hours, which the Met says suggests “they expect numbers far greater than the 499 applied for”.

In a formal objection to Havering Council, licensing officer PC Grote said no policing plans had been submitted, especially with regards to drugs and weapons, and there had been no engagement with the safety advisory group about “traffic management, security and everything that goes with the general running of a safe festival”.

He asked the subcommittee to reject the application outright, arguing: “If allowed to go ahead, this event will be impossible to police due to such a short turn around and this will put the public and people who attend this event at risk.”

Elected councillors will make a decision on whether to grant the notice at a licensing hearing next week.

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