A Causeway Coast and Glens councillor has suggested that in-house crowd and traffic management could save money during events in the Borough.

Members of December’s Leisure and Development Committee were presented with and asked to approve the schedule of council-led tourism events programme for 2026/27.

An report to members notes that officers have made a cost assessment based on the requirements to deliver these events in 2025, with an uplift for 2026/27 due to the impact of inflationary pressures, and have set a maximum budget for all events at £626,693.

Expected costs for 2026/27 events include £700 traffic management costs for Ballymoney Spring Fair, £900 crowd management costs for the North West 200, and £350 in crowd management costs for the summer fireworks evening in Portstewart.

UUP Cllr Richard Holmes asked if officers have considered the hiring of staff to deal with traffic and crowds, rather than having to rely on external bodies.

“I know we bring in specialist companies, but are we at the stage were we should be [having] somebody in-house who specialises at this?” he asked. “We have so many events going on through the year, it would be a useful addition to our team.”

A council officer said “certain elements” of event delivery can be accommodate by council staff, particularly through the tourism events team.

“For the bigger events, the sheer scale and size of the operation, and the infrastructure required, is prohibitive,” the officer explained. “But it is something that we have looked at in the past.

“When we did a past assessment it was working out as something 10 or 15 percent more expensive to deliver than to tender for but it is something that, in the new year, we will take on board and we will revise it.

“But in the short to medium term I can’t see us being able to deliver on all the events we have with an in-house function, that would require external and specialist procurement and involvement.”

Cllr Holmes asked if the issue was legal or practical.

The officer replied: “There is the qualifications and the level of skill and experience required for high-level traffic management systems, the Open would be an example of that.”