information

Traders & Volunteers

Applications for catering concessions and non-food trade stalls open in early 2025 for Wickam Festival 2025. Please email eastfest@talk21.com for details and an application form.

We’re always on the lookout for more volunteer stewards who get free admission to the Festival in return for a few hours work each day checking tickets and staffing access gates, our campsites and car parks.  Please email eastfest@talk21.com for a stewards’ application form.

TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR TRADING AT THE WICKHAM FESTIVAL

By submitting an application form you are legally binding yourself to abide by our terms & conditions of trading. Please ensure you have read them and made your staff aware of them prior to the event. The management reserves the right to evict from site anyone breaking this contract, or behaving in an illegal, aggressive or disorderly manner.

To apply to trade please email eastfest@talk21.com and use the form we will send you for your application.

Unless agreed otherwise with the Festival organisers in advance, pitch fee payments must be paid at the time your application is submitted. Unsuccessful applicants will have their pitch fee returned in full.

Applications are accepted on the assurance that the merchandise described on the form is all that will be sold on your stall at the Festival. Please note that whilst we try to ensure food and non-food outlets do not directly compete with each other we cannot guarantee this. No-one has exclusive rights to sell a particular food range or product unless agreed in writing with the Festival organisers.

The festival will not accept liability for any loss or damage to persons or equipment.

The stall holder shall provide copies of the following certification on application:

  • Public Liability Insurance
  • Employers Liability Insurance (if applicable)
  • Health & Safety Policy if applicable (five or more employees)
  • Risk Assessment for event
  • COSHH assessment for event (if applicable)
  • Equipment test certificates/stickers

Please note that coverings for stalls must be of fire proof material and marked as such.

Health and Safety officials from the Licensing Authority will be inspecting stalls before and during the event. Any stall not complying with the accepted standards and fire regulations will be closed down and all staff will required to leave.

All mobile caterers and non-food stalls must comply with the requirements of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995, Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995, The Food Safety Act 1990, and both the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as applicable. In respect of Fire Safety all Caterers & Traders must comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as well as adhering to more specific HSE Guidelines for Work Process Fire Safety.

No application will be considered without an appropriate and current risk assessment.

All electrical equipment will carry PAT/electrical safety certification; this must be available for inspection at the event. As far as practicable, all electrical equipment shall be located so that it cannot be touched by members of the public or unauthorised workers. All traders shall provide a 5kg dry powder fire extinguisher and a light duty fire blanket. Each stall must also have an appropriate first aid kit.

Onsite electric power will be made available. All traders will provide onsite certification to the effect that any approved LPG installations have been recently inspected by a CORGI registered engineer. Only gas bottles in use plus one in reserve can be kept with the stall at any time, any others must be kept in a locked area provided by the site (with labels indicating stall ownership). No LPG bottles and Oil drums are to be left on site.

All marquees, tents or other self-build structures should be of sound construction including all supporting poles, frames, guy ropes, stakes anchors and fastenings etc. and all guy ropes and fixing stays shall be conspicuously marked to ensure they do not present a trip hazard. Light-duty garden gazebos are NOT suitable for trading as they are likely to be blown away even by light winds. Construction of temporary structures must comply with the MUTA (www.muta.org.uk) Best Practice Guide where applicable.

COPIES OF ALL AFOREMENTIONED HEALTH & SAFETY CERTIFICATES MUST BE PROVIDED TO WICKHAM FESTIVAL ORGANISERS PRIOR TO THE EVENT AS ADVISED WHEN YOUR PITCH IS CONFIRMED

You will be allocated a set number of wristbands which must be carefully worn by yourself and your staff at all times on site. Any broken, incomplete or loose wristband will not be considered valid and will be removed, along with the wearer, by security.

There is to be no amplified sound as part of your stall unless specifically agreed with Wickham Festival during your application process.

The sale of alcohol, weapons, wax flares, sky lanterns and bbqs are all banned. Anyone to be found breaching the licensing laws will be removed from site.

Due to the nature of the site, vehicle movement is restricted and will be marshalled. You will be allocated a date and time slot for arrival and set up. All vehicles must report to the appropriate gate where they will be greeted & directed. If you arrive outside of your allocated slot you may be directed to a holding area where you will have to wait until your slot time or until you are allocated a new slot.

When the site is open to the public, ANY ARENA DELIVERIES MUST BE MADE BETWEEN 8AM AND 11.00AM after which time there will be NO VEHICLE MOVEMENT WITHIN THE EVENT ARENA. The management reserves the right to change these times as necessary. It will therefore be your responsibility to check with Festival staff if expecting deliveries or leaving the site for any reason.

While the Festival organisers will endeavour to provide every caterer and trader with a pitch location within the arena that is acceptable to the caterer or trader, the final decision on pitch locations rests with the Festival organisers. No caterer or trader has the right to demand a particular pitch location. Neither can pitch fees be refunded if a caterer or trader is unhappy with their pitch location unless a refund is agreed in writing with the Festival organisers prior to the Festival opening. Once sited you must stay within your pitch boundary. Under no circumstances may you move your pitch without express permission from the trader manager or nominated deputy. Failure to comply will result in your being asked to re-position your stall or to leave the site.

Anyone found to be using or selling illegal drugs will be immediately shut down, and reported to the authorities.

Waste bins will be provided throughout the arena as will fresh water supplies. Food and non-food traders will have access to fresh water taps, toilets, washing facilities and waste disposal tanks. Traders will be expected to keep their own trading areas clean and tidy. Caterers will be asked for a £100 ‘green deposit’ on arrival on site which will be refunded on departure if the trading pitch has been left in a clean and tidy condition.

You may not sell goods from any area other than your designated pitch, sell goods other than those indicated on your application, or trade outside of the designated trading hours, as this will constitute illegal trading, and you will be closed down.

Trading hours are 5pm – 1am (Thurs); 11am to 1am (Fri, Sat, Sun) unless otherwise agreed. All stalls must remain open and staffed during all four days of the Festival unless agreed in advance with the Festival organisers.

You may not sell drinks in glass containers. The whole site has a No Glass Policy.

Traders may not sub let all or part of their pitch unless agreed in advance with the Festival organisers.

Wickham Festival and Wickham Festivals Limited cannot be held responsible if trading levels are affected by poor weather, ground conditions or any other factor including COVID, pitch location or any changes to the site layout or event programming. Pitch fees are fixed fees and are not dependant on the level of trade at the event. If trade exceeds expectations the Festival will not seek any extra payment from the trader. Likewise, if trade does not meet expectations for any reason, the trader cannot claim a refund of pitch fees or other costs after the festival has ended.

In the event of a cancellation by the trader after payment, there will be a forfeit of 25% of the total pitch fee inc. vat. If the cancellation occurs within 14 days of the event, the total cost will be forfeited. However, if a trader is unable to attend due to a positive COVID test, the pitch booking & fee can be rolled-over to the following year upon proof of a positive test being provided to the Festival organisers. If the Festival is cancelled prior to opening, pitch fees will be refunded but if the event goes ahead, Wickham Festivals Limited cannot be held liable for any consequential loss due to trading being affected by any of the factors listed in the paragraph above.

The decision of a member of Wickham Festivals Limited staff on any of these Terms & Conditions is final.