Adopted 22 June 2026

Perranporth Beach, the village and the wider Perranzabuloe parish is recognised as being family orientated, offering a unique combination of expansive areas of soft golden sands, ancient sand dunes and public open green spaces, as well as easy access to many amenities.

Traditional beach activities such as paddling and swimming, rock pooling and beach games are further enhanced by Perranporth’s international reputation as a fine Atlantic coast surfing destination. The presence of both the Surf Life Saving Club and the RNLI exemplifies the beach as being safe and well stewarded at peak times, whilst also highlighting the necessity for caution and respect for the water. Perranporth is also well known as a beach favoured by dog walkers and the Parish Council monitors this feature closely to ensure this works for the overall benefit of all beach users.

History & Culture:

Historically the cultural heritage of Perranporth is linked to the extensive mining activity that was largely responsible for the establishment of this coastal village, and this is reflected in the exposed cliffscape along the extent of the beach, most notably around Droskyn Point. Within the dunes is the ancient oratory of St Piran, the Saint who is credited with bringing Christianity to Cornwall and whose flag is recognized as a symbol of Cornwall itself.

Policy:

Perranzabuloe Parish Council (PPC) has a clear responsibility in law to ensure that events held within the Parish are well organised and run safely. The expectation of local residents, holiday makers and others when visiting the Parish, including Perranporth Beach, the play parks and Inner Green, is that they will be able to enjoy their time, unimpeded by any activities that create a conflict with the family friendly reputation and general feel of the Parish. Therefore, PPC reserves the right to refuse permission for an event to go ahead, if it does not, in PPC’s opinion, meet the guidelines set out below and does not benefit the community.

If, close to the event date agreed, actions have not been completed and PPC believes that safety is compromised or that the event does not meet the standards required, then any permission already granted for the event to go ahead will be withdrawn and PPC will not have any responsibility for any costs incurred.

In general, organised events should satisfy the following criteria:

  1. Be authorised in accordance with PPC procedures and timings as set out within this document.
  2. Comply with all and any current Byelaws.
  3. Have a community or charitable focus or intent.
  4. Be relevant to a sensitive beach or dune environment.*
  5. Not cause the beach, or any other open public space, to be unduly restricted to other users in any way.
  6. Not be focused around motorised activities on land or sea.
  7. Not infringe any existing contracts with our leaseholders.
  8. No trading on the beach.
  9. No commercial advertising.
  10. Not take place within 2 days either side of Tunes in the Dunes annual event.
  11. Be organised to avoid the published Cornwall Council school summer holidays, the May and October half term holidays, Bank Holidays and Bank Holiday weekends.
  12. Have no negative environmental, geological, or biological impact on the beach, dunes or wider local ecosystems (including SSSI and nearby natural habitats).
  13. Be organised with the highest regard for ‘green and clean’ environmental principles to cover all aspects of the event (especially modes of transport, use of consumables, removal of waste, avoidance of single use plastics, etc.). Any rubbish or waste must be removed and disposed of in suitable waste or recycling facilities.
  14. Operate in accordance with all other local restrictions and PPC policies (e.g. release of balloons and lanterns is strictly prohibited).

Vehicles/Parking
Vehicles driving on the beach and/or dunes is strictly prohibited.

Permission must be sought in advance for vehicles wishing to access or park on the Inner Green.

PPC has a policy that prohibits vehicles from parking on the beach. Applications for permits will only be considered where vehicle access is essential to the event and the event cannot reasonably proceed without such access.  An application can be made for a parking permit to park within the designated parking area behind the Watering Hole. Applications should be made at the time of submitting an Event Notification Form. Late applications and/or applications for large numbers of vehicles will automatically be refused.

Drones
You must obtain written permission from Perranporth Airfield and submit it with your application along with a copy of your civil aviation licence to fly a drone. Filming is not permitted under any circumstances in the area from Perran Sands river outlet to Ligger Point.

*Sensitive Beach and Dune Environment– You will be expected to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment for your event to gain approval. This should include detail of how your activity will be organised and managed to prevent damage to the natural beach, dune environment and marine environment itself. For example, commit to the avoidance of single use plastics, litter prevention and collection, disposal of waste and recycling, reduction of foot traffic over the dunes and use of flammables. It is the event organisers responsibility to consider tide times and beach safety. Where requests are made to hold an event in sites of Special Scientific Interest, prior notification and permission must be obtained from Natural England.  It should be noted that this can take several weeks to obtain permission.

Other considerations:

Impact to Local Area– You will need to consider the impact of your event on the wider community such as increased vehicle traffic, loud noise or music, increased crowds etc.

Attendee Car parking – it is the organiser’s responsibility to ensure that there is adequate and safe parking for the number of people expected to attend, without causing any obstructions to the highway.

Beach Cleans – Please note that PPC is unable to dispose of any rubbish collected and it is the responsibility of the event organisers to arrange suitable disposal.

Hire Charges – PPC does not currently charge for the use of its grounds for events. However, this position is subject to periodic review, and PPC reserves the right to introduce charges at its discretion in the future.

Additional Costs – PPC will pass on the full cost of resolving any negative impacts from events, whether directly or indirectly caused, conscious or unintentional. This includes (but is not limited to) the cost of litter removal, rectifying any damage to the natural environment.

Deadlines – All organisers will be expected to provide Cornwall Council and the Parish Council with all requested information and final documentation no later than

6 weeks prior to any event date. In exceptional circumstances less notice may be considered.

Bouncy Castles/ Inflatables – PPC will refuse, without further discussion, any event that plans to have a bouncy castle or other inflatable structures.

Political Groups – PPC will refuse, without further discussion, any requests from political groups.

Religious and faith groups – All events hosted by religious or faith groups require prior approval from the Public Spaces & Services Committee.

Process:

In the first instance, if you believe your event meets the criteria listed above, notification of an intended event should be made via the appropriate Cornwall Council Event Notification Form available at www.cornwall.gov.uk. You should copy the Clerk at Perranzabuloe Parish Council into this application (office@perranzabuloe-pc.gov.uk). You can also contact the Parish Council direct.

Notice Period:

It is required that reasonable advance notice of your event is given. The required notice periods are as follows:

Up to 500 participants        6 weeks

501 – 5000 participants     12 weeks

Over 5000 participants       6 months

Any applications not submitted within the required notice period may be declined.

Supporting Documentation:

In order to speed up the processing of your application, please be aware that the following documentation will be required before any event can be approved:

  1. A completed Event Notification Form.
  2. A full Risk Assessment.
  3. Proof of Public Liability Insurance (minimum £5M for small events; £10M for all music events and larger events including sports events).

PPC may request further documentation depending on the type of event request. If a third party is involved, it is the responsibility of the event organiser to obtain and check their risk assessments and insurance documents and then provide copies of these to PPC.

Checks on Food Safety & Hygiene Certificates for any food vendors will be required as per Cornwall Council’s licencing laws.

Once you have submitted your request to PPC, you will be notified of the outcome which will be one of the following:

  1. Automatic approval;
  2. Automatic refusal; or
  3. Decision referred to the Public Spaces Committee (allowing up to 28 days for a decision thereafter).