Many of us felt a certain glimmer of hope when the government announced the UK’s roadmap to restriction lifting. While there is still a long way to go before things return to anywhere near normal, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel, and as the days get longer and the weather warms up, that light is getting significantly brighter in tandem.
If the pandemic continues to retreat in the UK, we could see music and sports events return by the end of June without any social distancing regulations in place. This would certainly be a great way to end a difficult year and a half.
According to the current roadmap, on Monday, May 17th, ‘’most legal restrictions on meeting others outdoors will be lifted – although gatherings of over 30 people will remain illegal. Indoors, the Rule of 6 or 2 households will apply – we will keep under review whether it is safe to increase this.’’
If you’re hoping to host a party for friends and family over the Summer to celebrate a tentative return to normality, then it should, in all honesty, be just that; tentative. Though the numbers allowed in private gardens change from 6 to 30 to unlimited, in March, May and June respectively, it still pays to be cautious.
With that in mind, we’ve teamed up with SRP Hire Solutions to take a look at 4 tips for hosting large gatherings in your garden safely.
LOOK AT THE REGULATIONS
The first thing you should always do when planning an event in your garden is to, of course, look at the regulations. The situation in the UK is very fluid at the moment and is changing all of the time. One moment the powers-that-be are declaring full steam ahead, the next, they’re warning of a third wave ‘’washing up on our shores’’.
The government are consistently updating its guidelines for businesses and individuals to react to the changing climate and ongoing assessment of risk, and you need to keep abreast of their announcements to ensure that your garden gathering is safe and legal.
Regardless of the anticipated roadmap, you can expect some additional rules, regulations, and guidelines that you’ll need to follow, which will provide the perfect basis for ensuring that your event is a safe one. Find out the latest guidelines on outdoor gatherings in private spaces by checking the government’s official ‘Coronavirus restrictions: what you can and cannot do’ page.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT HYGIENE FACILITIES IN PLACE
It is also critical to make sure you have the right hygiene facilities in place if you’re to host a large gathering in your garden.
This is particularly crucial after May 17th, when it’s predicted that a maximum of 30 people will be allowed to gather in private spaces, but indoor parties will be limited to six people or two households. Social distancing will still be required, too.
If you don’t invest in some basic facilities, then that’s going to mean a lot of people relieving themselves in your garden and not washing their hands properly afterwards; a recipe for disaster, don’t you think?
Consider hiring a portable toilet, complete with a sink and antibacterial wash, to ensure that your event is safe and hygiene standards are maintained. This will prevent people having to enter your home to use the facilities, and will reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination between guests.
In 2021, according to CheckATrade, the average cost of hiring a portable toilet was just £50 for two weeks, with the company recommending that a general rule of thumb should be one toilet per 25 guests as sufficient. To ensure the legality and security of your event for such a small outlay, this one seems like a no-brainer.
SANITATION STATIONS
We probably don’t have to tell you twice that these times are unprecedented. That much has been established. And precautions which in the past would have seemed excessive are now the norm. Setting up sanitation stations in your garden, then, for guests to use regularly, is a wise move to ensure the safety of your party.
Though soap and water remains the best defence against the virus, the ‘gold standard’ for preventing disease, since the action loosens dirt and bacteria (and viruses) from the skin and rinses them down the drain, since you’re hosting the event in your garden, then regular hand washing in the sink isn’t always plausible – even if that toilet you hired has one.
If you’re serious about hosting – and you are, that’s why you’re here – you could install a dispenser or two in your garden. This may seem a little over-the-top, but it’s a wise visual reminder of not letting standards slip just because you’re not close to a sink. The CDC recommends that you always use a hand sanitizer with >60% ethanol.
STAGGER ARRIVAL TIMES & KEEP NUMBERS MODEST
Just because you can invite 30 folk round after May 17th, doesn’t mean you should. The upper reaches of that limit are certainly not a target or a challenge for you to prove how many friends you have.
Although the temptation will be strong to invite the world and her dog round once the government says the word, a more staggered approach is sensible to mitigate any lingering risk.
Social distancing will still likely be required in the domestic garden for some time yet, so don’t get overly ambitious and throw a huge party as soon as it’s ‘safe’ to do so. Exercise your own judgment and common sense to balance the lack of it being shown elsewhere.
And if you are hosting a summer event in your garden, it might be sensible to stagger the arrival times of guests to prevent any bottle-neck effect in the path or alleyway which leads to your back garden. Having people arrive gradually will make it easier to manage social distancing and to inform people of the presence of the portable toilet and sanitation stations strategically placed in your garden.
THE BOTTOM LINE
So there you have it: some of the different steps that you need to follow to make sure that your 2021 garden parties are as safe as possible. While we are all delighted to hear the news that events are coming back to the UK, it is also imperative that we are responsible and that health and safety take centre stage when planning.
And now that we have all those caveats in place, check out these 8 unique ideas for socialising in your garden, IDEAL for having fun with loved ones once restrictions are lifted.