Martyn's Law outdoors: spaces, gardens and open-air events
Last reviewed:
"Does Martyn's Law apply outdoors?" is really two different questions, and mixing them up is where most confusion comes from. First: does your venue's own outdoor space, a beer garden, a terrace, a car park, count toward your 200? Usually yes, if it's part of your premises. Second: does a one-off open-air event, a festival, a fun run, a fete, get treated as a "qualifying event" in its own right? Only if it expects 800 or more people and controls entry. Here's both, answered separately.
Question 1: your venue's outdoor space
Your premises includes the building plus any other land that forms part of it, which is why a beer garden, terrace or attached outdoor seating area gets added to your indoor headcount, not treated separately. The official worked example is a café whose fire-safety safe occupancy is 180 (staff included), plus an outdoor area seating 30. Added together, that's 210, bringing the café into scope even though the indoor figure alone wouldn't. There also has to be an actual building for this route to apply at all: open land with no building isn't caught this way, and the immediate vicinity outside your boundary, the pavement, a public car park you don't control, doesn't count. See how to count your capacity for the full method.
Question 2: open-air events
A standalone open-air event, held in a field, park or other outdoor site rather than as part of your existing premises, is assessed under a separate set of rules: the qualifying-events regime. Three conditions have to be met together:
- 800 or more people reasonably expected at the same time, staff included.
- The event is accessible to the public, not a private, invite-only gathering like a wedding or a closed corporate event.
- Entry is controlled by a well-defined, secure perimeter, tickets, payment, membership checks, or similar, not open walk-in access.
All three have to be true. Under 800, it isn't a qualifying event, whatever the entry arrangements. Free, uncontrolled entry, however large the crowd, doesn't meet the perimeter condition either. A freely accessible park stays excluded as a park in general, but a ticketed event held inside one is judged on its own terms as a potential qualifying event, separately from the park's usual exclusion. See Martyn's Law exemptions for how that exclusion works.
Quick verdicts
| Scale | Entry control | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free village fete | ~500 | None, open to all | Not a qualifying event: no entry control |
| Ticketed food festival | ~1,200 | Tickets required | Qualifying event: 800+ and controlled entry |
| Pub beer garden, everyday use | 210 total (garden + indoor) | N/A, premises route | In scope as premises, standard tier |
| Farm's one-off charity concert | Varies, check recurrence | Usually ticketed | Depends on scale and whether it becomes a repeat booking |
That last row matters more than it looks: a single unexpected one-off can stay out of scope, but if the same event becomes an annual fixture, its recurrence can pull it into scope even without growing in size. See the "from time to time" rule for the official examples this turns on.
Who's responsible for a qualifying event
Control decides it, the same principle as anywhere else in the Act. If an outside company or organiser hires your premises or land and takes control for the event, they become the event's responsible person and take on the qualifying-event duties, not you. If you retain control and run the event yourself, even with contracted stewards or ticketing, you stay responsible. See who the responsible person is for the full test.
Not sure which route applies to you?
Most venues only need the premises route: work out your indoor-plus-outdoor total using the capacity guide. If you're planning or hosting a genuinely separate open-air event, check it against the three qualifying-event conditions above. Either way, the free checker gives you a straight answer in about two minutes.
Common questions
Does my beer garden count?
Yes, if it's part of your premises, which it usually is for a pub's own garden or terrace. Add the people it holds to your indoor count, staff included, when working out your total. See how to count your capacity.
Does a marquee count?
The guidance doesn't mention marquees specifically, so there's no settled rule to quote. What it does say is that premises means a building, or a building plus other land forming part of it, and that there's no specific requirement for the building to be a particular material or size. A marquee attached to and used as part of an existing qualifying building is reasoned about the same way as any other extension of the premises; a standalone marquee with no building at all falls outside this route altogether, though a large enough one-off event held in or around it could still be a qualifying event in its own right.
Is a free village fete in scope?
Not as a qualifying event, no. Qualifying events require entry to be controlled, tickets, express permission, or similar checks, and a free, walk-in fete with no entry control doesn't meet that condition however many people turn up. If the fete is held on premises that are otherwise in scope for another reason, that's a separate question.
Who's responsible at a qualifying event?
Whoever has control of the premises for that event. If a venue's own operator runs the event themselves, they stay responsible as usual. If an outside organiser or company hires the venue and takes control for the event, that organiser becomes the event's responsible person, with the qualifying-event duties that come with it, even if the venue's usual operator remains responsible for the premises the rest of the time.
About this guide. Written by the Martyn's Law Plan team, based on the statutory guidance published under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Last reviewed: . Read the official guidance on GOV.UK.
Sources: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025; Home Office statutory guidance (April 2026, updated May 2026) and supplementary documents. Paragraph references are to the statutory guidance. General information, not legal advice. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.