HOUGHAM VILLAGE HALL - HVHT CIO Conditions of Hire May 2021
Conditions of Hire
1. The Hirer
will ensure that they and their assistants have an understanding of the Hall conditions, familiarise themselves and their assistants with fire precautions policy, plan and evacuation procedures and any supplementary plan or procedures that it may be necessary to introduce from time-to- time e.g Covid-19 policy
will ensure that they have entered a clear and unambiguous statement of the purpose of the hire on the booking form before signing
undertakes to appoint a sufficient number of competent persons, aged 18 or over, to provide adequate supervision throughout the hiring to ensure the provisions and stipulations and any applicable licences are complied with.
will ensure that the Bookings Secretary is made aware of the intention to sell alcohol as the hall is not licensed for that purpose. Any hirer wishing to do so, must obtain a TEN (Temporary Event Notice) from Dover District Council and provide a copy for the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
2. The Hirer is responsible during the whole period of the hire for making sure that:-
Use of premises namely the building its fabric and contents, its access, car park and surrounding land, is fully supervised to keep those premises safe from damage or change of any sort
The number of people attending does not exceed safe limits. For advice on this contact the Booking’s Secretary
Behaviour of all persons, whatever their capacity, using the premises, remains under control
A fully charged mobile phone is available for use in an emergency, and that number has been made available to the Bookings Secretary
Children do not roam freely in the kitchen without supervision as there are water dispensers, kettle, knives and a cooker in situ
Car parking arrangements are controlled to avoid obstruction of the highway
No excessive noise occurs during the hire
A minimum of noise is made by any person on arrival or departure particularly late at night or early morning to show respect to neighbours
Any electrical appliances brought onto the premises for use are certified safe and in good working order i.e. PAT tested. The PAT certificate should be produced at the time of booking.
If showing a film or DVD, the necessary licence is produced at the time of booking
The premises are not sub-hired unless agreed beforehand with the Bookings Secretary or used for any purpose other than that described in the hire agreement
The premises are not used by the hirer or anyone else for any unlawful purpose or in any unlawful way
No birds or animals, except guide dogs, are brought into the building without prior permission
No action is allowed that may render and insurance cover for the premises invalid
No drugs or smoking are allowed on the premises
No LPG (gas) appliances or highly flammable substances are brought onto the premises without permission of the CIO.
3. Housekeeping
At the start of the hire the Hirer should
Run through routine housekeeping points particularly if this is an event to which the general public have been invited
Provide basic advice about the action to take in case of a fire or other emergency e.g where the fire extinguishers are placed, where the fire exits are located, where the assembly point is situated in case of evacuation etc. A copy of the hall’s “Fire Plan” and “Fire Risk Assessment” is available for Hirers to view
Advise where the toilets and cloakroom are situated
The Hirer is responsible at the end of the hire for making sure that:-
The premises are cleared of people
Everything is left clean and tidy. All equipment, chairs and tables are returned to their storage location in the outside workshop
All lights and electrical appliances are switched off and no taps are left running
All doors and windows are locked securely including the door to the outside workshop
All bins have been emptied and all belongings and rubbish removed from the site (the hall does not benefit from a rubbish collection so all rubbish needs to be taken away by the hirer)
The heating system thermostat is set to 5% or at a level agreed with the Bookings Secretary. Failure to do this could result in an additional charge of £25.00
As directed by the CIO the hirer shall make good or pay for all damages including accidental damage to the fixtures, fittings or contents and for loss of contents.
4. Compliance with CIO’s Safeguarding Policy and appropriate legislation
The Hirer should ensure that they exercise the appropriate duty of care and are committed to the protection and safety of everyone who enters our premises including children, young people and adults at risk. The Hirer acknowledges that under the Care Act 2014 they have a duty for the care and protection of adults who are at risk of abuse and they are responsible for the safety and care of children under the Children Act 1989 and 2004.
All hirers who wish to use the hall for activities which include children and adults at risk, other than for hire for private parties arranged for invited friends and family MUST produce a copy of their Safeguarding Policy and evidence that they have carried out relevant checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
5. Insurance
A commercial hirer is required to have adequate insurance to cover the hirer, members of the hirers organisation and invitees against all claims resulting from the hire and should provide evidence of current cover to the Bookings Secretary prior to the actual hire.
Anyone running exercise classes, fitness groups, Zumba, yoga or other groups involving physical activities whether they be a commercial enterprise or run on a voluntary basis is also required to hold their own stand-alone public liability policy which should be produced at the time of booking. Failure to produce such a policy or evidence of suitable cover will render the hiring void and enable the hall to be re-hired to another hirer.
The hall is insured against any claims arising out of it’ s own negligence and its public liability cover extends to cover non-profit making i.e. non-commercial hirers. This does not cover bouncy castles or other inflatable devices, fireworks, sponsored walks, rides or similar events. Items stored by any hirer in the building are not insured except by prior arrangement and confirmed in writing by the CIO.
6. Accidents and dangerous occurrences
The Hirer must report all accidents involving injury to the public to an authorised representative of the hall as soon as possible and complete the relevant section in the hall’s Accident Book. Any failure of equipment, either that belonging to the hall, or brought in by the Hirer must also be reported as soon as possible. In accordance with the “Report of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulation (RIDDOR) 1995,” certain types of accidents or injury must be reported on a special form to the local authority. On request a form can be supplied by the Booking Secretary who can also give assistance in completing this form.
7. Stored equipment
The CIO accepts no responsibility for any stored equipment or brought onto or left at the premises and all liability for loss or damage is hereby excluded. All equipment and other property, other than that stored on the premises by agreement, must be removed at the end of each hiring or storage period. The CIO may dispose of any such item 7 days thereafter at its discretion, by sale or otherwise on such conditions as it thinks fit and charge the Hirer daily storage fees and costs incurred in storing and selling or otherwise disposing of the same.
8. Alterations
No alterations or additions may be made to the premises, and NO fixtures are to be installed (or placards, posters, notices, decorations or other articles be attached) in any way to any part of the premises without prior written approval of the CIO. Any alteration, fixture or fitting or attachment so approved shall, at the discretion of the CIO, remain in the premises at the end of the hiring and become the property of the Hall or, be removed by the Hirer. The Hirer must make good to the satisfaction of the CIO any damage caused to the premises by such removal.
9. Continuing hires
Once a regular weekly or monthly Hirer has signed a hire agreement subsequent use of the same facilities for the same purpose will be deemed to be governed by that hire agreement, as long as dates or times of use have been inserted appropriately. The CIO reserves the right to give notice that specific hire dates otherwise considered booked will not be available in order to accommodate special requirements of other Hirers from time-to-time e.g. when elections are called or if urgent repairs or refurbishment require closure of parts of or the whole premises. Whenever possible all such notices will be in writing with at least 10 days advance notice.
10. Cancellation by the Hirer
If the Hirer cancels the booking before the date of the event and the CIO is unable to arrange a replacement booking, the Hall trustees may, at their discretion, require a further payment of hire fees or withhold part of any special deposits and hire charges already paid.
11. Cancellation by the Hall
The CIO reserves the right to cancel a hiring by written or verbal notice to the Hirer if the CIO, reasonably consider that:
a) such a hiring may lead to a breach of the licensing conditions, or other legal or statutory requirements, or
b) unlawful or unsuitable activities may take place at the premises as a result of the hiring, or
c) the premises have become unfit for use intended by the Hirer.
In any such case the Hirer shall be entitled to a refund of any deposit or hire fees already paid, but the CIO shall not be liable for any resulting direct or indirect loss or damages whatsoever.
12. Restriction of benefit of the hire agreement
None of the provisions of the hire agreement are intended to or will confer any benefit pursuant to the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 on a person who is not named as a party to this Hire Agreement, The hire agreement constitutes permission only to use the premises and confers no tenancy or other right of occupation of the Hirer.
13. Hire Deposit Arrangements
A refundable deposit of amount set annually by CIO will be required from Hirers when booking the Hall in respect of one-off events e.g children’s and adults’ parties to cover any costs which may arise from the need to call in specialist cleaners if the hall has not been left in an acceptable state of cleanliness and tidiness. At the conclusion of the hire agreement one of the Hall trustees shall visually check the premises and ensure all the above relevant clauses have been carried out and completed, and that no damage has been caused during the agreement period. If the Hall trustee decides that any of the above clauses have not been completed to a satisfactory standard or any damage has been caused, the deposit may be forfeited.
14. WiFi Services
The WiFi service is provided by VFast and only available to your device within the operating range of the hall. Although we aim to offer the best Wifi service possible, we make no promise that it will meet your requirements and we cannot guarantee that it will be fault free and accessible at all times. You therefore make use of it at your own risk and we are not responsible for data, messages or pages you may lose or any damage to your equipment.
The Wifi should not be used for disseminating any unlawful, harassing, libellous, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable material including transmitting any material that constitutes a criminal offence, results in civil liability or otherwise breaches any applicable laws, regulations or code of practice. Also the WiFi should not be used to interfere with any other persons use or enjoyment of the service or make, transmit or store electronic copies of material protected by copyright without the consent of the owner.
If you use our Wifi service in contravention of the terms of these conditions we have the right to suspend or terminate the service immediately and cancel your hire.
15. Privacy & Data Protection
We may collect and store personal data through your use of our Wifi service. Your use is protected under General Data Protection Regulations 2018; by using our service you agree to the use of the data in the way described. A copy of our Data Protection policy can be supplied on request by our Bookings Secretary.