TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF HIRE AND INFORMATION FOR HIRERS

Booking Officer Penny Haynes
Booking Emails [email protected]
Registered Charity Number:246022


BY SIGNING THE HIRE AGREEMENT FORM, ALL HIRERS AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT IN THESE TERMS.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE ENTIRE BUILDING IS A NON-SMOKING AREA.

BOOKINGS

• The Hall may be booked for recurring or single lettings. Hall hire is charged by the hour or session (see separate sheet for charges). The specified rates cover use of the Hall, and use of the lavatories. Use of the kitchen for food preparation and cooking is available for a flat fee of £15 upon booking the Hall.
• Hire reservations both long and short term can only be accepted upon agreement of availability and detailed agreement of the dates and times involved. The Hall cannot accept reservations without a booking form and payment.
• Hirers must be aged 18 years or over. If the event is to involve persons under the age of 18 years, the Hirer must give assurances that children under 18 will be supervised by signing the relevant section on the Booking Agreement Form.
• Regular Bookings with Fees/Commercial Hirers: Please include copies of any relevant Public Liability Insurance Certificate if you have one.
• No responsibility whatsoever can be taken for any !personal” items left on the premises or any damage caused by them to the premises or any misuse of them by others.
• No charge is made for cleaning, provided that all facilities are left clean, tidy and in good repair, including the lavatories (as well as cooker and refrigerator if used). Any charges incurred due to breakages, poor cleaning, failure to replace furniture, etc. will be passed on to the Hirer.
• No apparatus or equipment of any description can be left on the premises without the prior consent of the Management Committee. There is minimal storage available at The Hall this is reserved for Hall equipment and weekly groups where elements of their equipment is too heavy to transport. A fee is required for this storage and will be included in the hiring fee.
• The Hall Trust reserve the right to change any or all of these terms including those relating to prices with one months notice.
Please notify The Booking Officer if you require set up and break down time.

DEPOSITS & CHARGES

• For !one-off” events a deposit of £20 is required, this is taken at the discretion of the Booking Officer.
• Both the deposit and the hire charge must be paid at the time of invoice and paid in accordance with the invoice. The completed Hiring Form must be completed prior to the date of the booking.
• Regular Hirers will be invoiced monthly in arrears and payment terms are strictly 14 days from the date of invoice.
• For wedding receptions and evening parties, the deposit and rate are to be agreed separately with the Booking Officer.
• The deposit will be refunded after the event subject to a satisfactory inspection (where applicable).
• Should a call-out to the The Hall be required as a result of a fault caused by the Hirer, a call-out charge will be deducted from the Hirer”s deposit.

CANCELLATIONS

• Hirers may cancel bookings by giving at least 2 weeks notice.
• If a Hirer cancels a booking with at least 14 days notice being given, the deposit will be retained but the hiring charge will be refunded.
• Cancellations made with less than 2 weeks notice are liable to a payment of the whole hiring charge.
• If Long term hirers cancel their booking, they will be required to give four weeks notice and to clear any storage of their property by the end of their tenure. If they have not cleared their storage they will be given notice that the Hall will clear it by force after 14 days from the end of their tenure. If the cancellation of the booking is prior to four weeks notice they will be liable for payment in full.
The Management Committee reserves the right to cancel any booking by giving notice in writing and returning the hiring charge and deposit, should the purpose of hiring the Hall be in any way improper, unauthorised, or nefarious or should the building be required as a Polling Station, or in a case of force majeure. The Management Committee shall not be liable to pay to the Hirer any money/loss incurred by the cancellation.

GENERAL HIRING CONDITIONS

Responsibility for the premises rests with the Hirer during the period of access to the Hall. The hire period must include set-up and clear-up times. The premises must not be accessed outside of the agreed hire period and must be vacated promptly at the end of the hire. Special heating conditions (i.e. warmer or cooler) can be requested in advance. The controls should not be touched by anyone except a nominated member of the Management Committee. The Hall Booking Officer or nominated member of the Management Committee reserves the right to enter the Hall at any time during an event if it has reason to believe there may be a problem, and to impose further conditions on the spot or curtail the event as it considers necessary for the welfare of guests or the safety of the building or the impropriety of use.

Entry

Hirers must contact the Bookings Officer at least one week before the date of hire. The Bookings Officer will make arrangements to pass on the entry codes and other information about The Hall.

MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

The Hall holds the appropriate licences for Public Entertainment. Music must cease by Midnight and all music must be kept to a suitable level to avoid disturbance of neighbours. For commercial hires/regular bookings with fees, Hirers should ensure that they have proper insurance for any equipment used in the Hall, to include any damage caused by them to the Hall and its users.
Responsibility for the use and safety of electrical equipment (and/or other equipment specified at the time of booking) brought on to the premises by the Hirer rests entirely with the Hirer. Any such electrical equipment must have passed the necessary P.A.T. tests and certificates must be produced upon request.
Public Liability insurance cover must exist for such equipment. Copies of certificates of insurance are required before a booking can be confirmed. Without adequate insurance cover such equipment must not be used. Hirers may be asked to remove such equipment from the premises.
Children shall be restricted from viewing age-restricted films classified according to the recommendations of the British Board of Film Classification. Performances involving danger to the public or of a sexually explicit nature shall not be given.
The Hall holds a public entertainment licence. The current capacity of the main Hall is as follows:
• Closely seated 120
• Seated at tables 120
• Dancing – no tables 120
• Seated at tables with dancing 120

HEALTH & SAFETY

It is the responsibility of the individual Hirers to ensure that they are aware of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and to take reasonable precautions to ensure that their activities are carried out in a responsible way. A copy of the Appledore Community Hall Health & Safety Policy is available on the notice board in the entrance hallway. Contact details of the delegated Committee members are also on the notice board. The first aid kit is kept in the Kitchen. A condition of the booking is that the Hirer has familiarised themselves with these terms and conditions. Any accidents should be reported to a delegated member and an Accident Report Form completed. Accident Report Forms are kept in the kitchen.

CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION.

The Hall now has CCTV cameras at the entrance, in the corridors and in the main Hall. These cameras are constantly recording. The footage from these cameras will only be viewed if there is an incident of theft, vandalism or illegal /violent activity. The Hall has appointed two Trustees to view any footage both of whom have signed confidentiality agreements. Any footage found to contain any illegal activity will be shared with police and other designated authorities.

FIRE PRECAUTIONS

Hirers must make themselves familiar with the location of the fire extinguishers and the instructions for use, !break-glass” fire alarms, emergency exits and of the importance of fire doors. Hirers will be responsible for informing all those using the Hall of the position of the emergency exits. Hirers must also familiarise themselves with the instructions on what to do in case of fire. Instructions are displayed on the notice board in the Hall. Fireworks, party poppers and candles are not allowed, either for internal or external use with the exception of birthday cake candles.

ACCESS FOR ALL

There is access into the building for wheelchair users into the building and a designated lavatory inside. Assistance dogs are welcome in the Hall.

CAR PARKING

Visitors to the Hall are asked to follow the parking recommendation in force at the time.

ALCOHOL LICENCE

Licensed bars may be arranged by the Hirer in accordance with the Licensing Regulations. It is the Hirer”s responsibility to ensure that they have complied with the legislation. Alcohol consumption by persons under age must not be permitted. The Hall has a Premises (Entertainment) Licence as required under The Licensing Act 2003. This must be cleared in advance with the Management Committee. Under the legislation, alcohol may be given away, but if it is sold in any form, i.e. by raffle ticket, donation or included in the price of a ticket, then a Licence or TEN must be held. It is the recommendation of the
Management Committee that if alcohol is to be sold, it is done in the normal way (i.e. priced by glass/bottle, etc). Licence Holders will be required to produce a certificate at the time of booking and certificates MUST be available at the time of the event. It is an offence to sell/serve alcohol to persons under 18 years of age. If for any reason alcohol is being sold without a Licence or permission to sell alcohol has not been given when the booking was made or there are signs of alcohol-related behaviour, any member of the Management Committee can close the event immediately. The Management Committee and Hirer can be held legally responsible for criminal offences carried out at the Hall and as a
result the Hall may lose its licence. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TOLERATE ANY BREACH OF THE ABOVE LEGISLATION. No licence is needed for free alcohol.

FOOD SAFETY

Under the Food Safety Act 1990, it is the responsibility of persons providing food for any event held in the Hall to ensure that they are aware of and abide by the legal requirements. The Management Committee is not responsible for any food brought into the Hall.

SUPERVISION

Hirers are held responsible for adequate supervision of the premises by their own party during the period of hire and must ensure that fire exits and access to them are kept clear at all times. Child Protection It is the responsibility of the Hirer (under the Children Act 2004) to ensure the safety of all children at all times
at any event. There is also a responsibility to safeguard vulnerable adults. The Hall Management Committee has a Policy for Child Protection and Safeguarding of Young People and Vulnerable Adults.
Hirers are responsible for the observance of the law regarding child protection, in particular that adults having continuing and close contact with children or vulnerable adults should have undergone a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check. A declaration form for such user groups should be signed and returned with the booking form to the Bookings Officer. Any incidents should be reported to the Child Protection Officer (see notice board for contact details).

CHECKLIST FOR HIRERS OF

The Appledore Community Hall.
In order that the Hall can be kept in good condition for all, would Hirers please do the following at the end of each hire:

  1. Please ensure that the Hall floor is left in good condition (ready for the next user). Sweep or mop the floor to remove any
    crumbs etc. (Cleaning equipment will be found in the kitchen). Please ensure that you use the protective matting under
    any heavy equipment brought into the Hall including but not limited to bouncy castles and music equipment.
  2. Make sure tables are clean before being put away, and put away tables and chairs where you found them. Chairs should
    be stacked no kore than five high.
  3. Check that all taps in the lavatories and kitchen are turned off, make sure the lavatories are clean, that the refrigerator is
    empty and clean if you have used it, and any cups, plates etc. that you have used are washed, dried and put away.
  4. Use the bin bags provided to dispose of rubbish in the outside bin and of recycling in the appropriate containers. Any
    rubbish that exceeds the capacity of the outside bin must be removed by the Hirer.
  5. Any food waste should be taken away by the hirer.
  6. Please note any comments you may have in the visitors” book in the kitchen.
  7. When you leave, check that all fire doors and kitchen hatch fire shutter are closed
  8. Switch off all the lights you have put on.
  9. Ensure the Outer Door is closed and secure.
    Your deposit will be forfeited if the Conditions of Hire have not been met.
    Any information retained by The Hall for the purposes of bookings or contact information will remain protected under the terms of the data protection act.