Barham Village Hall, Conditions of Hire, and Essential Notes:


Please read the following 'Terms and Conditions of Hire' and essential notes :- 

• 'Terms and Conditions of Hire'
• Hirers Liability Cover
• 'Essential Notes'

You can check room availability by clicking on the Diary on our website unnder the Bookings tab.

All requests for booking imply the hirer's full agreement to the above.

If you are having any difficulties with the booking system, please email barhamcommunityhall@hotmail.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Terms and Conditions of Hire

Barham Village Hall is NO SMOKING and NO VAPING throughout

1. Whilst the premises are occupied, the number of persons allowed within the premises should not exceed the following:

2. All people taking part in any sporting activities within the building must bring with them non-marking sports shoes.

3. No sticky substances, nails, pins etc are to be used on the walls, ceilings and floors. No smoke machines to be used.

Responsibilities of the Hirer: The Hirer shall:

1. Be over 21 years of age at the time of booking, and during the period of the hiring shall be responsible for the safety and security of the whole building and its surrounding area, and it’s occupants, e.g. ensuring fire exits are kept clear at all times.
2. Appoint a person who will have responsibility for contacting the emergency services should the need arise during their use of the Hall.
3. Be responsible for the setting up and clearing down of the Hall after the event, putting back the furniture, securing doors and windows, turning off all equipment properly and cleaning the Hall in line with the Exit Checklist for Hirers on display in the corridor. Take all rubbish away from the premises, this is not to be disposed of in the bins outside the hall.
4. Return keys to the Booking Administrator or other appointed person or place.
5. Ensure that all activity within the Hall and grounds ceases by 11.30 .m. (6pm on Sundays for parties) with a reasonable clearing up time thereafter unless specifically agreed in writing by the hall’s Booking Secretary.  The performance of plays must cease by 11.00pm.
6. The hirer shall ensure the minimum of noise is made on arrival and departure. If Hall staff request noise levels be reduced this request is to be adhered to. Failure to do so will result in loss of part or all of the damage deposit paid.
7. Not use the premises for any other reason than that stated on the booking form, and shall not sub-hire the premises or allow the premises to be used for any unlawful purpose or in any unlawful way. Nor do anything, or bring onto the premises anything that may endanger the same or render invalid any insurance policies in respect of the premises.
8. Be responsible for obtaining such licenses as may be required for the sale or supply of intoxicating liquor and for the observance of the same.
9. Be responsible for obtaining any such licenses and similar as may be required for the purpose of their booking that are not held by Barham Village Hall. All related licenses and similar must be obtained prior to the booking and made available to the Booking Administrator. If you are playing music at a class or as part of a performance, you will require a PPL licence. If you are selling alcohol, you will require a licence from the Council.
10. Ensure that nothing is done on the premises in contravention of the law relating to Gaming, Betting and Lotteries.
11. Comply with all conditions and regulations made in respect of the premises by the Fire Authority, Local Authority or otherwise; particularly in connection with dancing or music or other similar public entertainment or stage plays.
12. Be responsible for ensuring that all legislation relating to participating children and vulnerable adults involved in their booking be complied with at all times and that such people are supervised at all times.
13. If preparing, serving or selling food observe all relevant food health and hygiene legislation and regulations.
14. Ensure that all other legislation and similar relating to their booking and use of the hall and surrounding area are complied with at all times.
15. Ensure that any electrical appliances brought onto the premises and used there shall be safe and in good working order and used in a safe manner, and carry the current appliance test certificate.
16. Ensure that no animals (including birds) but excluding Guide Dogs and registered dogs for people with disabilities are brought into the premises unless agreed to by the Booking Administrator.
17. Ensure that for public and commercial events attended by in excess of 100 persons, 2 stewards are present whilst the premises are occupied.
18. Ensure that any notices relating to what should be done in the event of a fire or other emergency should be read by the appointed stewards at the start of the hiring. Each steward shall be readily identifiable to members of the public and shall be made aware of the following: a) the action to be taken upon discovering a fire; b) the position of the exits which shall be unlocked and free from obstruction; c) raising the alarm and correct method of calling the fire brigade; d) evacuation of the public in the event of an emergency.
19. The Fire Brigade shall be called to any outbreak of fire, however slight, and details thereof shall be given to the Booking Administrator.    
20. Must report all accidents involving injury to the public to the Booking Administrator as soon as possible and complete the relevant section in the village hall’s accident book.  Any failure of equipment belonging to the village hall or brought in by the Hirer must also be reported as soon as possible. 
21. Certain types of accident or injury must be reported on a special form to the Incident Contact Centre.  The Booking Administrator will give assistance in completing this form.  This is in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
22. Ensure that at no time does the hirer, or any people involved with the hiring, do anything to limit in any way the quiet enjoyment of the facilities of the hall and surrounding areas by other hirers and users.
23. Ensure awareness of, and compliance with, all the relevant policies of Barham Village Hall Trust and have all their own relevant formal written policies relating to their activities at Barham Village Hall.
24. The Hirer shall not carry out or permit fly posting or any other form of unauthorised advertisements for any event taking place at the premises, and shall indemnify and keep indemnified each member of the village hall’s management committee accordingly against all actions, claims and proceedings arising from any breach of this condition.  Failure to observe this condition may lead to prosecution by the local authority.

Barham Village Hall:

1. Reserves the right to refuse or cancel any booking. Provisional bookings shall be held for 14 days only, after which time the booking will be considered lapsed. Barham Village Hall reserves the right to seek a damage deposit for payment of up to £300 for any function or new group booking. If no damage or excessive cleaning occurs the deposit will be refunded in full within 14 days after the event.
2. Reserves the right to cancel any hiring in the event of the Village Hall being required as a Polling Station or similar purpose. In this case the hirer shall be entitled to a full refund of any monies paid.
3. Will clearly display in the hall details of what should be done in the event of a fire or other emergency.

Cancellations:

We are aware that sometimes, hirers will need to cancel a booking. We operate a sliding scale of charges for cancellations as follows:

1 month prior to booking date - 10%

2 weeks prior to booking date – 20%

    less than a week prior to booking date - 50%

Insurance

1. Barham Village Hall shall not be responsible for: a) loss of or damage to any property brought onto the premises for the event for which the hall was hired or by anyone attending that event; or b) death of or injury to any person while on the premises for that event, unless such death or injury is caused by negligence of Barham Village Hall, or c) any loss due to the hiring being interrupted, postponed or cancelled because of any breakdown of machinery, failure of electricity, leakage of water, fire, government restriction or act of God which may cause the premises to be temporarily or permanently closed.
2. The hirer shall indemnify Barham Village Hall against any claims, demands, actions, proceedings costs or expenses arising from the hiring or use of the Hall.
3. In the event of any damage or loss to the premises or it’s surrounds, or to anything within the said premises or surroundings, arising out of the hire, the hirer shall make good at his own expense all such damage or loss. If the Hirer fails to do so within ten days of the occurrence the hirer shall be taken to have authorised the Barham Village Hall to make good such damage and the hirer undertakes to indemnify Barham Village Hall against all costs, charges and expenses in respect of the damage or loss.
4. If the premises are to be hired for a public event for which tickets will be sold, public liability insurance in the sum of £5m MUST be obtained by the Hirer and a copy thereof submitted to the Village Hall’s management prior to the event; and where it is necessary for the Hirer to obtain a public entertainment licence such application is to be made to the relevant body and a copy thereof submitted to the Village Hall’s management prior to the event.

Safeguarding

          All users working with children all vulnerable adults should hold a valid DBS certificate and child protection policy. The hall's Safeguarding Policy can be found under the 'Governance' section of our website. Please report any concerns immediately as indicated.

Essential Notes

The following information will help you make the most of your time at the Hall, so please give it a read, and ask any questions you may have ahead of your arrival.

1. The Halls and other rooms are blank canvases for you to furnish as you require – chairs and tables are provided – you will need to lay these out according to your needs. Please return anything you use to where you found it.
2. The Hall building is a no smoking zone. No dogs either please.
3. Your key works on all external doors.
4. Please familiarise yourselves with the location of fire exits and extinguishers etc:  there is a fire alarm on the building, with smoke alarms throughout. Please DO NOT USE A SMOKE MACHINE as these will set off the fire alarms.
   Fire exits are to be found as follows:

• To the rear of the Grabham Room
• To the left of the building through the main hall and past the service area
• Through the main entrance doors

          The fire assembly point is located at the car park to the front of the bowling green

.

Fire extinguishers are located in the main kitchen, in the service area by the fire exit, beside the main entrance and a CO2 (electrical fires) one by the side of the stage in the Main Hall, with fire blankets in each kitchen.

1. Any accidents need to be logged in the accident book which is located in the drawers in the main kitchen. There is a First Aid kit in each kitchen.
2. The lights in the side corridor and toilets are automatic and operated by motion sensor – you do not need to turn these off before you leave!
3. Please only use the spaces you have hired – there may be other people using the other rooms.
4. Please take any rubbish away with you. Do not leave this on the bins outside the hall. There is a nappy disposal bin in the disabled toilet.

TOILETS

We have a baby change unit and nappy bin in the accessible toilet – please only leave nappies here. Ladies and gents toilets all have handwash, toilet roll and brushes supplied.

CAVALIER ROOM

The room contains 10 chairs and 4 tables. 

Light switches are on the wall by the door. Please do not use sellotape or blue/white tack to attach things to the paintwork.
Please sweep the floor before you leave – there is a dustpan and brush under the sink in the kitchenette. Return once finished. Please take all rubbish and recycling with you. You may use the kitchenette at the end of the corridor.

KITCHENETTE

Cups/saucers/small plates and tea spoons etc are provided, but please bring your own consumable supplies (tea bags, milk etc). The village shop is located on site for any last minute purchases!  Please take any of your unused food/drink/supplies home with you after your hire.

There are no cooking facilities in this kitchenette. We do not provide tablecloths, saucepans or tin foil,

The switch for the shutter is situated to the left, in the open cupboard space. Please sweep the floor before you leave. There is a broom in the corner of the Grabham Room, and the bin and dustpan / brush are under the sink.
The wall water heater needs turning on at the mains switch – it is ready to use when the light stops flashing, alternatively there is a kettle if you only require a couple of hot drinks.

Please hang up any wet/used tea towels to dry – these will be collected and washed.

GRABHAM ROOM

40 chairs and 7 tables are available here for your use.
Light switches are on the wall by the door. Please do not use sellotape or blue/white tack to attach things to the paintwork.

Please sweep round the room and kitchen before you leave – there is a broom in the corner of the room, and a dustpan/brush under the sink in the kitchenette. Return once finished.  Please take all rubbish and recycling with you.

The heating thermostat is on the wall next to the grey door, and the temperature has been preset – please do not adjust this as this will affect subsequent activities and hirers. If you require heating, please advise us on your booking form.
You may use the adjoining kitchenette (please read notes above).

MAIN HALL

Chairs and tables of all sizes are kept in the store cupboard in the hall itself – the door is not locked but is stiff!  If you need additional tables / chairs you are welcome to borrow some from the other rooms, but please ensure these are returned correctly at the end of your hire. Please do not use Sellotape or blue/white tack to attach things to the paintwork. Tying balloons etc to the wall lights / beams is fine. The default position for the partition screen is closed. If you require this to be open, please advise in advance.

Light switches for the hall are on a panel by the side door. Please do not adjust the window stat dial - this affects the skylight window vents which will open automatically if the stated temperature is exceeded, and close on rain or once the temperature regulates.  The heating thermostat is on the wall next to the stage door, and the temperature has been preset – please do not adjust this as this will affect subsequent activities and hirers. Heating will be set for your event in advance. The partition screen has a door in it which, when open leaves a small lip at the bottom – please be careful this is not tripped over.

Please sweep round the hall and kitchen after your hire – there is a broom and dustpan/brush outside the main kitchen. Please return these once finished.  Please take all rubbish and recycling away with you.

You may use the adjoining kitchen.

MAIN HALL KITCHEN

The light switch is inside by the door. Cup/saucers/plates and cutlery etc are provided, but please bring your own consumable supplies (tea bags, milk etc). The village shop is located on site for any last minute purchases!

Please take any of your unused food/drink/supplies home with you after your hire.

(If you have hired our crockery/cutlery set you will be provided with additional information about this).
The wall water heater needs turning on at the mains switch – it is ready to use when the light stops flashing, alternatively there is a kettle if you only require a couple of hot drinks. The shutter switches are on the wall to the right of each shutter.     

There is a box file in the kitchen drawers containing manuals for all the appliances – please consult these if you are unsure.
The waste bins are in the large slide-out drawer - please take all rubbish and recycling home with you after you are finished.
Please hang up any wet/used tea towels to dry – these will be collected and washed.

There are 2 cookers in this kitchen, which may be used – the mains switches are on the wall at hob height. However, we do not provide tablecloths, saucepans or tin foil

Please leave all ovens, hob and cookers clean if used. Cleaning things are under the sink.

You are welcome to use the dishwasher. The dishwasher is very fast and the residual heat from the washer will dry the items too – just lift them onto the side, stand them on a tea towel and refill the washer if required. Laminated instructions are on the work surface. Please refer to the manual in the file in the drawer if unsure.

Noise Levels

We are in a residential area and we are mindful to respect our neighbours. To reduce noise levels, please ensure external doors and windows are closed after 8pm.