Time to Street Party! Get Ready for the Queen's Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee street parties are being encouraged by Richmond Council, which is again covering the costs of all road closures in streets where residents would like to organise celebrations.

The Council met the official costs for street parties during the royal wedding celebrations last year, and will do the same when the Queen celebrates 60 years as monarch in June. The authority will pay for making signs to close roads and paying for formal adverts required to make drivers aware. Neighbours and residents groups will only have to find the cost of the party, like food and drink, themselves.

Lord True, Richmond Council’s Leader, said: “We saw a great outpouring of goodwill across our borough for Prince William’s wedding, and I would love to see the same at our monarch’s Diamond Jubilee. Last year we swept away pages of needless bureaucracy to reform the application process, to make it easy for neighbours who want to celebrate together. We will again do our bit for local people this year by covering the costs of closing roads, helping people mark this great national occasion together.

“Last April during the wedding many neighbours met each other for the first time, and it’s to be hoped those good memories will inspire residents to do the same this year. There were more parties in Richmond upon Thames than any other part of London last year. We set a precedent as being the most community-spirited borough, the jubilee is our chance to again show what a happy and neighbourly place this is.”

Advice from Richmond Council is to prepare well in advance, including talking to neighbours, and applying in good time to have roads closed. The Council will on Monday re-launch its street party information webpage, which includes a simple form giving the date and time of parties and details which roads would need to be shut.

The form also includes useful information on planning and preparing for a party. Visit www.richmond.gov.uk/street_parties for details. Last year, there were 85 street parties to mark the royal wedding in Richmond upon Thames.

As well as supporting street parties for the Diamond Jubilee, the largest section of Twickenham Riverside to date to be opened up to the public, will also be unveiled during the celebrations. The new Jubilee Gardens will include a town square, new garden and a tree feature marking the anniversary.

The Council will also be running an art exhibition charting the borough’s royal connections. The Council is looking for volunteers to help curate the show, and to contribute their own memories of royal events in the past.