creating a car park for one night?

A

Abbica

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Some advice would be greatly appreciated with this god forsaken dilemma.

Having a large party in Sept and we need a place for people to park their cars. I hear you can't put lights up on a road so we can't ask people to park there as they need to be able to see were they're going later on that night. So I was thinking across the road in the field opposite us. Can I just ask:-
Can we run a cable from the house and set up floodlights in the field or is there such a thing as battery floodlights?
Do we have to buy the floodlights/spots or can you hire these?
Also, the field is a bit soggy to say the least and it is meant to rain up to the end of August, so they say!! With the traffic from the cars, can anybody recommend anything to walk on, especially for the ladies in their heels, what do I get, were do I get it please??
 
Running a power cable across a public road will almost definitely be a no-no. You'll almost definitely have to hire a generator and flood lights. A lot of building sites use them but I can't think of any company names right now.

If the field is soggy, I'd be more worried about cars getting stuck and women in heels. Assuming you can overcome that problem, you can hire matting that sits on top of the grass and distribute the weight so people can walk without getting stuck. Concert organisers use them all the time.
 
I think the easiest would be to rent one of those all in one flood light and generators. They can be towed, any plant hire company would rent them out. As mentioned if field is boggy you could have problems but if its just wet cars will be fine. you could get someone to park and collect the cars for you-a local college/ school kid etc and give them a few quid for the night
 
mickpyrmont said:
...you could get someone to park and collect the cars for you-a local college/ school kid etc and give them a few quid for the night
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OP, please don't contemplate implementing that suggestion - it will not fly and has serious implications for the insurances of the car owners and the potentially (uninsured) car-valet.

Private policies will not allow the use of a car for hire or reward.

@mickpyrmont - Are you based outside Ireland?
 
As I recall, 1 if not 2 persons died, while moving one of these lighting rigs, at a funeral in Limerick, in circumstances you are describing, a field been used as a car park at a wake. Only a couple of years ago.
(there where overhead lines in the field which the willing helpers didn’t see with the lights on and the moved the rig to give more room.)

My feeling is if people want to drive it sup to them to park safely.

Exception would be if it’s a commercial event- you have a duty of care to the paying attendees.
 
What about a variation on a theme - negotiate a deal with a local pub (maybe buy some of your "consumables" there), and get permission to allow your guests to park.

Have the local hackney / school-bus service run 30-minute collections from the boozer to your door, to allow for staggering the arrival of your guests (they can stagger their own departure ;) )

This is based on the premise that you live in a rural area.
 
Basically, it is a wedding, 240 guests etc, serving alcohol. A lot of people will drive from the church to the house. I would say 45ish cars??? the field across the way is a neighbours but I am sure he will give it us for a price for the night as he hasn't used it for anything this years. No pubs near us, was contemplating the bus thing but that will only get messy and cost as fortune as the taxi man told me, "I have done it before for people and it always gets messy and expensive". He disauded me from it.

I liked that idea of the one flood light and generator, get some matting perhaps, so I rang up a hire company there and he said its called a lighting tower, 20ft high and it costs €65 to rent for the night. Not bad! I just have to find a responsible person to put it up as you say or a spot with no overhead wires.
 
Abbica said:
Basically, it is a wedding, 240 guests etc, serving alcohol. A lot of people will drive from the church to the house. I would say 45ish cars??? the field across the way is a neighbours but I am sure he will give it us for a price for the night as he hasn't used it for anything this years. No pubs near us, was contemplating the bus thing but that will only get messy and cost as fortune as the taxi man told me, "I have done it before for people and it always gets messy and expensive". He disauded me from it.

I liked that idea of the one flood light and generator, get some matting perhaps, so I rang up a hire company there and he said its called a lighting tower, 20ft high and it costs €65 to rent for the night. Not bad! I just have to find a responsible person to put it up as you say or a spot with no overhead wires.
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Also what you could do if the field is hardly used is to buy a lorry load of 2 inch down to dust stone and spread it out in a dedicated parking area of the field and this might prevent cars and people getting stuck.
After all they will be only driving on to it and out of it once, so its not likely to muck up as easily as if there were cars coming in and out all day
 
Abbica said:
Basically, it is a wedding, 240 guests etc, serving alcohol. A lot of people will drive from the church to the house. I would say 45ish cars??? the field across the way is a neighbours but I am sure he will give it us for a price for the night as he hasn't used it for anything this years. No pubs near us, was contemplating the bus thing but that will only get messy and cost as fortune as the taxi man told me, "I have done it before for people and it always gets messy and expensive". He disauded me from it.

I liked that idea of the one flood light and generator, get some matting perhaps, so I rang up a hire company there and he said its called a lighting tower, 20ft high and it costs €65 to rent for the night. Not bad! I just have to find a responsible person to put it up as you say or a spot with no overhead wires.
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Hire a coach to bring people from church to reception.
 
hoopman said:
Also what you could do if the field is hardly used is to buy a lorry load of 2 inch down to dust stone and spread it out in a dedicated parking area of the field and this might prevent cars and people getting stuck.
After all they will be only driving on to it and out of it once, so its not likely to muck up as easily as if there were cars coming in and out all day
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Presumably the fields owner (not the OP) would expect him to remove this afterwards?
 
Abbica said:
the field across the way is a neighbours but I am sure he will give it us for a price for the night as he hasn't used it for anything this years.
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You also need to be careful with public liability insurance for the field. If something happens in the field who would be responsible. You, landowner?
 
I know what you are saying Peeete about insurance but I am sick to the back teeth of public liability insurance. One for the marquee, one for the land, at this stage, I don't care. I think it would be cheaper if they sued me! I swear, if anyone is going to get married soon, HOTEL! Organising this is a nightmare. The amount of stuff you have to consider is something serious and the thing I am most worried about, but can't control, is the weather!!

That's my rant over with anyway, back to the query, the bus from the church to reception, I don't think many people would use it as they have to drive to the church anyway and probably just take their car from there? I am going to go with the floodlight generator. I am going to take my chances on the grass for driving, not lay gravel as I wouldn't say I would be allowed. As was said, it is only in and out that day, not constant traffic. Just have to figure out how people (woman mostly) are going to get out of the field in a dignified manner without their designer shoes sinking into the field cheaply enough? Hire matting? where?
 
Abbica said:
Just have to figure out how people (woman mostly) are going to get out of the field in a dignified manner without their designer shoes sinking into the field cheaply enough? Hire matting? where?
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What sort of men are you inviting! I always drop my wife to the door and then go park the car.
 
Men in heels?? Only joking.
Perhaps you're right, leave them and love them. Just going to have to lay a mat to let them walk on, it's all that can be done really.
 
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