Every building in one place
The hall, the community centre and the sports pavilion, each with its own plans, its own people and its own briefings, from one account.
Martyn's Law for parish and town councils
If your council runs a hall or community centre where 200 or more people gather for a fair, a dance or a public meeting, it's in scope. Parks and open recreation grounds usually aren't. hailo writes the plans for each building and briefs your staff, volunteers and hirers.
Download Martyn's Law on one page for your noticeboard or committee (PDF, free).
When you might reach 200
- Fairs, markets and fundraisers
- Dances, discos and parties
- Big public meetings and consultations
- Hires for weddings, and for Eid, Diwali and Christmas celebrations
Count staff and volunteers too. Not sure? Check your venue.
A worked example
Keep people informed planMillbrook Community Centre, run by Millbrook Town Council
Up to 300 people at once · standard tier
During the Christmas fair, the caretaker is told of a threat near the main entrance.
- 1The caretaker tells the fair's organiser, using the agreed phrase rather than the fire alarm.
- 2The organiser makes a short, calm announcement: stay inside and move to the main hall.
- 3Helpers tell anyone who didn't hear it, including people in the side rooms and toilets.
- 4The caretaker calls 999 and keeps people updated until the police say it's over.
Who counts in a council building
Usually each hall, pavilion or community centre is its own premises, with its own count. Buildings close together, used for the same purpose and run by the same body can count as one group, and then you add them together.
In each building, count everyone who could be inside at once at its busiest event: the public, your staff and caretaker, volunteers, stallholders and performers. The Home Office counts volunteers and contractors as staff.
What doesn't add up is separate bookings on the same day. The lunch club and the evening dance are two counts, not one.
Parks and open spaces are a separate question
Parks, gardens, recreation grounds and open sports grounds are left out of the law unless you check payment, tickets or membership to get in. A pavilion or café on the recreation ground is a building, so look at it on its own.
Big outdoor events are different. A ticketed event of 800 or more on council land can be a qualifying event. In the Home Office's example of a concert in a council park, whoever takes control of the area for it is responsible: the concert company if the hire hands it control, or the council if it keeps control, even if it pays others to steward or sell tickets.
Busy days in the council's calendar
Look across the year for the events that fill a building and come round again:
- The Christmas fair and the lights switch-on reception
- The annual parish or town meeting, and big consultations
- Polling days and Remembrance gatherings
- Eid, Diwali, Vaisakhi and Christmas celebrations booked by community groups
- Dances, quiz nights, wedding receptions and fundraisers
Hirers and leased buildings
When you hire out your building, you stay the responsible person. The Home Office's guidance says to explain to each hirer what's expected of them, and to be able to show the SIA that you did.
Where a management committee leases and runs the building, it is usually the responsible person, and the council, as the owner, must co-operate where it has some control. Leases differ, so check what yours says about who controls the building, and agree in writing who does what.
A second plan for a made-up town hall
Here's part of a made-up town hall's plan for getting everyone out (evacuation) during a busy public meeting.
People don't gather at the fire assembly point. The Home Office's guidance says an open assembly point can be the wrong place in an attack, so this plan sends people away in different directions.
From a made-up plan
Get everyone out planMillbrook Town Hall
A made-up town hall with a large first-floor hall, run by the made-up Millbrook Town Council.
- When we use it
- There's a threat inside the building, or the police tell us to leave.
- Who starts it
- The clerk or the chair of the meeting, whoever hears first.
- What we say
- The chair stops the meeting and reads the message on the card at the top table.
- Ways out
- The main stairs to the market place and the back stairs to Mill Lane. A councillor helps anyone who needs help on the stairs.
- Where people go
- Away from the building in different directions, not to the assembly point in the market place.
- Who calls 999
- The clerk, who then tells the police who may still be inside.
Getting ready through the council
Where the council runs a building, the council is the responsible person. The clerk or caretaker can do the work on its behalf, but the duty stays with the council.
Bring it to a meeting: agree who is responsible for each building, count each one's busiest event, approve the plans and record the decisions in the minutes. Then brief the staff and regular volunteers. The duties are expected to start in spring 2027.
Why hailo suits parish and town councils
Clear on who's responsible
Where the council runs a building, the council is usually the responsible person. Where a management committee leases and runs it, the committee usually is, and the council co-operates as landlord.
Ready for council meetings
A one-page summary, draft minute wording and a dated record of who has been briefed, ready for the clerk and councillors.
What the law asks at the standard tier
Get everyone out
Evacuation
How you move people out of the building, or part of it, quickly and safely.
Bring everyone in
Invacuation
How you bring people inside, or to a safer room, when outside is the danger.
Lock down
Lockdown
How you stop people getting in or out, for example by locking doors.
Keep people informed
Communication
How you tell people what's happening and what to do: stay put, or move away.
What the standard tier doesn't ask for
No hardware, no guards, no course. It's about plans and people knowing them.Home Office factsheet
- Not needed: Security staff
- Not needed: Bag searches
- Not needed: CCTV or new equipment
- Not needed: Building work
- Not needed: A training course
Guidance worth reading from government and sector bodies
- NALC and SLCC welcome the Martyn's Law statutory guidance (April 2026)
- NALC: Preparing parish and town councils for Martyn's Law (guide for member councils)
- Home Office: responsible person factsheet
Other organisations' guidance, for information. We don't endorse it and it isn't legal advice.
Questions
Are parks and recreation grounds in scope?
Usually not. Martyn's Law is about buildings, and open spaces such as parks, gardens and recreation grounds are left out unless you check payment, tickets or membership to get in. A big ticketed event held there can still count as a qualifying event.
We lease our hall to a management committee. Who is responsible?
Usually the committee, if it runs the building. The responsible person is whoever has control, not the owner. The council, as landlord, must co-operate where it has some control. Check what your lease says.
Does the clerk become the responsible person?
Not usually. Where the council runs the building, the council itself is the responsible person. A clerk or caretaker can do tasks on its behalf, but the legal responsibility stays with the council.
Do we count all our buildings together?
Usually not. Each hall, pavilion or centre is normally its own premises, with its own count. Buildings close together, used for the same purpose and run by the same body can count as one group.
Can a big public meeting bring a hall into scope?
It can, if 200 or more people can be expected at once and meetings like it come round again. A one-off that nobody could have expected doesn't count on its own.
What about a big event in the park?
A park without entry checks isn't premises under the law. But a ticketed event there of 800 or more can be a qualifying event, with its own responsible person: whoever takes control of the area for it. Get specialist advice for those.
Who needs to be briefed?
Anyone with a part to play in the plans, such as the clerk, the caretaker, the people who open up and whoever runs busy events. Hirers need a briefing for the building too.
Is a pavilion on the recreation ground in scope?
It can be, if it's used for one of the uses the law lists, such as a hall for hire or a café, and 200 or more people can be expected inside at once from time to time. The open ground around it is left out unless entry is checked.
Do we need to buy anything?
No. The standard tier doesn't ask for security staff, bag searches, CCTV or building work. It's about plans and the people who know them.
Read next in plain English
Guides
- What is Martyn's Law? A plain-English guide for venues
- Martyn's Law checklist: what to do, step by step
- What is invacuation? Bringing people inside, safely
- Martyn's Law and your fire risk assessment: what you can reuse
- Helping everyone out: people who can't move quickly
- Who is the responsible person for Martyn's Law?
- Does Martyn's Law need training?
- Martyn's Law penalties and fines: what really happens
- When does Martyn's Law come into force?
- Martyn's Law enhanced tier and qualifying events, in plain English
- Martyn's Law quick guide
- Martyn's Law committee pack
- Martyn's Law plan templates
- Questions to ask before you buy Martyn's Law software
- Martyn's Law glossary