1. Use of the Village Hall
Use of the Village Hall and its facilities is subject to the following rules and, in the case of hirers, to certain standard conditions incorporated in the hiring agreement.
2. Equal Opportunities
The Village Hall shall be available to all members of the community regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religious or political beliefs and marital status.
3. Applying to Use the Village Hall
- Application for use of the Village Hall shall be made to the Management team and confirmed in writing.
- The right to refuse any application for the use of the Village Hall facilities is reserved to the Management Committee or the Manager or any nominated employee.
- All arrangements for the use of the Village Hall facilities are subject to the Management Committee reserving the right to cancel bookings when the premises are required for use as a Polling Station, rendered unfit for the intended use or deemed unsafe for any reason. The Charity will not be liable for any losses as a result.
- Sections and affiliated groups of the Village Hall shall normally have priority use of its facilities, but all arrangements to hire facilities made with outside bodies and individuals shall be honoured by the Management Committee, except as provided for in item ( c ) above.
4. Maximum Capacity
The Village Halls main hall has a maximum capacity of 220 and 75 for the smaller hall; depending on the type of function, (these figures include helpers and performers), and on no account shall this figure be exceeded.
5. Safety Requirements
The Hirer must ensure that nothing shall be done which will endanger users of the building, and the policies of insurance relating to it and to its contents. In Particular:
- Obstructions must not be placed in gangways or exits, nor in front of emergency exits, which must be immediately available for free public egress;
- Fire-fighting apparatus shall be kept in its proper place and only used for its intended purpose by trained/experienced operators;
- The Fire Brigade shall be called to any outbreak of fire, however slight, and details of the occurrence shall be given to the Manager;
- Performances involving danger to the public shall not be given;
- Highly flammable substances shall not be brought into, or used, in any part of the premises. No internal decorations of a combustible nature (eg polystyrene, cotton, etc) shall be undertaken or erected without the consent of the Manager;
- No unauthorised heating appliances shall be used on the premises;
- The First Aid box shall be readily available to all users of the premises. It is located in the foyer, along with a defibrillator. The Manager shall be informed of any accident, injury or dangerous occurrences that happen on the premise and these will be recorded;
- All electrical equipment brought into the building shall comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations, 1989. The Management Committee disclaims all responsibility for claims and costs arising out of any such equipment that does not so comply.
- Inflatable and other ‘hazardous’ devices are used solely at the hirers risk
6. Supervision
The hirer or person in charge of the activity shall not be under 18 years of age and shall be on the premises for the entire period of hire, or duration of the activity. The person in charge shall not be engaged in any duties, which prevent him/her from exercising general supervision.
When the premises or any part of them are used for the purpose of public entertainment, there shall be a minimum of two persons, neither of whom shall be less than 18 years of age, on duty.
All persons in charge or on duty shall have been informed of the procedure for evacuation of the premises, calling the emergency service and shall make themselves familiar with any fire-fighting equipment available.
Under no circumstances must the hall be left insecure, open or unattended before, during or after an event.
7. Bar Facilities and Intoxicating Liquor
Although located on the premises, all Bar Services are provided by an external provider. As such, all agreements will be between the hirer and licensee. Under no circumstances will the Village Hall be responsible for any conflict between either party. There is a nominal fee for arranging the bar facility but this enables us to keep the cost of drinks to a minimum and helps to fund the premises license.
No intoxicating liquor is permitted onto any part of the premises without the express permission of the Designated Person/Manager. Any alcohol sales are strictly in accordance with our premises license. The hirer’s bond will be withheld if any guest is found to be bringing or drinking unauthorised liquor during the arranged function within the Village Hall, without prior consent.
8. Own Food Provision
The Village Hall kitchen will be out of bounds for outside sourced catering events. The hirer will provide their own Cutlery and Crockery and is responsible for the safe removal of all waste food (appropriately bagged) from the premises. This may exclude any commercial arrangements agreed in writing under this contract. Fly tipping is a criminal offence and efforts will be made to track down and prosecute all parties responsible.
9. Village Hall Catering
Although located on the premises, all Village Hall catering is provided by an external provider. As such, all agreements will be between hirer and cater. Under no circumstances will the Village Hall be responsible for any conflict between either party for any reason.
10. Betting, Gaming and Lotteries
Nothing shall be done on or in relation to the premises in contravention of the law relating to betting, gaming and lotteries, and the persons or organisations responsible for functions held in the Village Hall premises shall ensure that the requirements of the relevant legislation are strictly observed.
12. Recorded and Live Music
It is the responsibility of any independent user group which uses recorded music in its activities to check whether it requires a licence from PRS and/or the PPL. and, if so, to obtain one for their event. Activities must comply with our Premises License relating to volume levels and times when permitted.
13. Storage
Permission of the Manager must be obtained in writing before goods or equipment are left or stored at the Village Hall for any period exceeding one night (a storage fee may be payable). For overnight storage verbal approval from the Manager team is sufficient. The Management reserve the right to dispose of goods not collected within seven days after the event, however they deemed fit. This may be at the cost of the hirer for larger items.
14. Loss of Property
The Management Committee will not accept responsibility for damage to, or the loss or theft of any items or personal effects, from the Village Hall grounds or buildings.
15. Parking
All vehicles are parked at the owner’s risk. Vehicles shall not be parked so as to cause an obstruction at the entrance to, or exits from the Village Hall. Parking is permitted overnight, following and event or function, but should be removed promptly the next day. Where parking facilities are provided these must be used, and in any case users of the Village Hall should avoid undue noise on arrival and departure.
No vehicles above 7.5 tonnes gross are permitted on the carpark and any damage to the car park surface, howsoever caused, is deemed to be the drivers responsibility. Disabled parking must be adhered to. NB All car park activity is recorded on CCTV.
16. Nuisance
- Litter shall not be left in or about the Village Hall premises.
- Except in the case of trained guide/support dogs, animals shall not be permitted on the Village Hall premises.
- Hirers and organisers of events in the Village Hall are responsible for ensuring that the noise level of their functions is not such as to interfere with other activities within the building nor to cause inconvenience for the occupiers of nearby houses and property.
17. Responsibility
The Hirer is ultimately responsible for any loss or damage, howsoever caused. We advise that all subcontractors must have adequate public liability insurance and will be responsible for any loss or damage caused by themselves and/or any equipment under their supervision or failure to secure other areas of the premises during their event.
18. The Bond
The Management reserve the right to deduct costs from the £150 bond for any incidental damage, additional cleaning, call out fees for emergency services and any other related costs. All additional items not quoted but requested at the event will also be charged and deducted from the Bond. We reserve the right to charge for any additional repairs / costs howsoever caused, in excess of the value of the bond.
19. The Provision of Keys and Alarm Fobs
Where keys and Fobs are provided for access to the venue (regular bookings), as the nominated key holder you are fully responsible for the security of the venue during and after your event. A bond will be required against the loss of keys and fobs to go towards the cost for the replacement of the existing locks, resetting of the alarm provision and for their replacement for all parties. False activations may result in a charge as we have ‘Level 1’ response in place due to the nature of our tenants.
20. Cancellation
Please note that in the event of a cancellation:
Ad-hoc bookings, the 25% deposit paid on booking is not refundable. As we are asking for the full payment and bond seven days in advance, the following deductions will be made to refunds
Non refundable deposit = the 25% Deposit
6 days prior = Deposit + 25% (50%)
5 days prior = Deposit + 35% (60%)
4 days prior = Deposit + 45% (70%)
3 days prior = Deposit + 55% (80%)
2 days prior = Deposit + 65% (90%)
1 days prior = Deposit + 75% (100%)
Regular bookings, will incur charges at the following rate of total hire fees
= 1 Weeks Notice or more = No Charge
= 1 week to 48Hrs Notice = 50% charge
= Less than 48hrs = 100% charge
In all instances, Teas, Coffees and standard victuals supplied from stock will not be included as part of this total cost. Any out sourced facilities, including catering, activities, entertainment, licenses etc. will be charged as per the suppliers terms and conditions. Where the Village Hall has to close for H&S purposes or unforeseen circumstances a full refund or a free lesson allocation will be provided
20. Terms & Conditions
These conditions apply at the time of print in Oct 2022. The Village Hall reserves the right to change these rules at any time. Any amendments will be enclosed with your booking.