With the royal wedding on April 29 fast approaching, and other events to follow including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, organisations across Hammersmith and Fulham are preparing to party.

With street parties, fairs and fetes in the offing through spring and summer, H & F council claims it has made them easier to organise by reducing the application form for organisers to one simple online form.

If residents don't have a computer they can asked to be sent a print version which is only a few pages long.

The councils says under previous central Government regulations, community groups were asked to apply for up to five separate licences and face numerous layers of bureaucracy and paperwork, leading to delays and sometimes even the cancellation of community events.

As a result of the council’s proposals, there are now two main requirements for groups that wish to hold a small event. They must have community approval and make appropriate arrangements for diverting traffic.

Celebrations are expected to take place across the capital throughout April 29, when Prince Wiliam will marry his girlfriend Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which will take place over the first weekend in June.

There are also plans for for a weekend of celebration on June 10 to 12 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion. Suggestions for local events marking the Great Poppy Party weekend include barbecues, street parties, karaoke nights and games evenings.

Cllr Harry Phibbs, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, predicts: "2011 is set to be the

year street parties are revived and we start talking and celebrating with our neighbours again.

" The Great Poppy Party weekend is a chance not just to thank the Legion for its wonderful caring work over nine decades but to acknowledge its value to communities and individuals."

If you would intend to apply to hold a small local event visit the council's page on Street parties and fetes.

February 1, 2011