TOWN and parish councils are getting help from Fenland District Council as they start to plan special events to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next June.

More than 20 people representing councils and community groups attended a briefing at Fenland Hall this month to get advice on all the many legal and practical issues that they are likely to face.

The briefing built on the offer made earlier this year by Councillor Alan Melton, FDC’s Leader, to make �1,000 available to any town or parish council that wanted to put on a Jubilee event.

Welcoming the representatives, Cllr Melton said the advice session had been organised months in advance of the Jubilee itself “because planning any sort of big event takes a lot of time”.

“We want to help in any way we can,” he said. “Money is a good start but it isn’t everything. There’s a lot more to putting on a successful event than just having enough cash.”

Two detailed presentations were given by Mick Gipp and Mike Chapman, FDC’s Safer Fenland and markets and events managers. They also issued an open invitation to local organisers to “pick up the phone and talk to us” if organisers had wanted further advice.

Maureen Davis, from Wimblington, said: “It was a jolly useful meeting. We’re very pleased that FDC does seem to want any Jubilee event to go very smoothly and we’ve already followed up with them to get some more advice.”

Three events are planned for Wimblington – a children’s street party, a tea party for older people and a family party with a live band. They are also planning to light a beacon as part of a national chain across the country.