Terms and Conditions of Hire

Charlton Down Village Hall (Herrison Hall) ,Sherren Avenue, Charlton Down Dorchester DT2 9UA. Registered Charity no 1097442 - Standard Conditions of Hire.

Note: All references to Rules refer to the General Rules governing the use of CDVH

1) The Hirer shall pay as deposit at least one third of the cost of the booking. Such deposit shall normally only be refundable in the event of CDVH cancelling the booking in pursuance of Rule 3 (c).

2) The Hirer shall pay the balance of fees due 7 days before the period of booking. Fees for regular bookings are payable monthly in advance. If the Hirer wishes to cancel the booking and CDVH is unable to conclude a replacement booking, the question of the repayment of the fees paid (less the deposit) shall be at the discretion of CDVH. In the event of CDVH cancelling the booking in accordance with Rule 3 (c), all fees (including the deposit) paid by the Hirer shall be refunded.

3) The Hirer shall comply with the General Rules governing the use of CDVH.

4) The Hirer shall, when making the booking, inform the bookings secretary of their requirements as to the provision of kitchen facilities.

5) The Hirer shall, during the period of hire, be responsible for the supervision of the premises (as prescribed in Rule 9), protection of the fabric and contents, safety from damage, however slight, or change of any sort. Also supervision of car parking arrangements so as to avoid obstruction of the highway and the avoidance of nuisance to nearby residents.

6) Alcohol may not be brought on to the premises, without the express permission of the Trustees of CDVH

7) The Hirer shall be responsible for obtaining any licenses necessary in connection with the booking, other than those already held by CDVH. Where alcohol is to be sold on the premises, and where the express permission of the Trustees of CDVH to bring alcohol on to the premises has been obtained, the Hirer must then apply to THE LICENSING SECTION, WEST DORSET DISTRICT COUNCIL, 58-60 HIGH WEST STREET, DORCHESTER DT1 1UZ for a TEMPORARY EVENT NOTICE, pay the appropriate fee to them, and advise the Bookings Secretary of CDVH when this is obtained.

The Hirer shall be responsible for making arrangements to insure against any third party claims, which are not covered by the CDVH insurance. The Hirer should be aware that profit making operations, arising from the hiring, may exclude them from the CDVH insurance cover. Any hiring involving children may also be excluded.

9) Private hirers may be required to lodge an additional deposit, returnable upon the premises being left in a clean and undamaged condition.

10) The Hirer shall be responsible for the observance of all regulations appertaining to the premises stipulated by the Licensing Act 2003 and the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976.

11) The Hirer shall not sublet or use the premises for any unlawful purpose in any way nor do anything or bring onto the premises anything which may endanger the premises, their users or any insurance policies relating thereto.

12) The Hirer shall indemnify CDVH for the cost of repair of any damage done to any part of the property including the curtilage thereof or the contents of the building during or as a result of a booking.

13) The Hirer shall, if selling goods on CDVH premises, comply with Fair Trading Laws and any local code of practice issued in connection with such sales. In particular, the Hirer shall ensure that the prices of all goods and services are prominently displayed, as shall be the organiser’s name and address.

General Rules governing the use of ‘Charlton Down Village Hall.

Preamble: The management of the Hall is vested in the General Committee (the Trustees) of the registered charity, Charlton Down Village Hall. ‘Herrison Hall’ is registered with the Charity Commission as an additional name. The powers and composition of the General Committee are defined in the Constitution, a copy of which may be inspected during reasonable hours on application to Hon. Secretary, Charlton Down Village Hall. Under the provisions of the Constitution, the General Committee is empowered to make rules, or to withdraw or amend them. Certain of these rules are derived from the requirements of the Community Premises Licence (CPL) issued in respect of the premises. The CPL is displayed at the hall

1. Use of the Hall

Use of the premises and its facilities is subject to the following rules and, in the case of hirers, to certain standard conditions specified in the Hiring Agreement.

2. Equal opportunities

The Hall shall be open to all, subject to adherence to these rules, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religious or political beliefs or marital status.

3. Applying to use the Hall

a) Application for use of the hall shall be made to the Booking Secretary.

b) The right to refuse any application for the use of hall facilities is reserved to the General Committee. The General Committee will refuse an application to use the hall’s facilities if the use by a particular association or individual presents a risk of public disorder or of alienating the hall’s beneficiaries or supporters.

c) All arrangements for the use of hall facilities are subject to the General Committee reserving the right to cancel bookings when the premises are required for use as a Polling Station or are rendered unfit for the intended use.

d) Groups run primarily for the benefit of residents of Charlton Down 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 General Committee, except as provided for in c) above.

4. Hours of opening

The hall is available to hirers between the hours of 8 am to 11 pm, seven days per week, subject to the conditions of the Hire Agreement.

5. Maximum Capacity

The premises have a maximum capacity of 500 persons of any category (i.e. audience, staff, performers. officials). On no account shall this figure be exceeded.

6. No Smoking

There may be no smoking anywhere on the premises, including toilets. From 1st July 2007 it is against the law to smoke in any enclosed public place ,which includes the Charlton Down Village Hall (Herrison Hall) Complex. The hirer has a responsibility to ensure that the law is complied with during the period of hire for all persons on the premises. Failure to comply with the new law will be a criminal offence which may lead to the prosecution of the hirer and any person found smoking during their booked period of hire.

Please refer to the Smokefree England website at www.smokefreeengland.co.uk for more information.

Furthermore, the Trustees of Charlton Down Village Hall will refuse to accept future bookings from persons not complying with the above.

7. Safety Requirements

All conditions attached to the granting of the hall’s Premises Licence, or other licences shall be strictly observed. Nothing shall be done which will endanger the users of the building, and the policies of insurance relating to it and to its contents. Serious breaches of these requirements may result in termination of hire contract during a hire session. In particular:-

a) Obstructions must not be placed in gangways or exits, nor in front of fire extinguishers or call point units or emergency exits, which must be immediately available for unimpeded public egress.

b) All groups are expected to arrange their own fire drills in order to familiarise themselves with evacuation procedures.

c) The emergency lighting must be functional during the whole time the premises are occupied, and must illuminate all exit signs and routes.

d} Fire-fighting apparatus shall be kept in its proper place and only used for its intended purpose.

e) Fire doors must not be propped open except for short periods when furniture or large equipment is being moved. A responsible person must ensure that this rule is complied with.

f) The Fire Brigade shall be called to any outbreak of fire, however slight, and details of the occurrence shall be given immediately to any of the keyholders listed in the Foyer.

g) Performances involving danger to the public shall not be given.

h) Seating plans in the main hall have been agreed with Dorset Fire and Rescue Fire Prevention Officer. Copies of these plans are available on request. Gangway widths and row-row spacing must not be reduced below the permitted dimensions under any circumstances.

i) Hirers shall not bring flammable gases or liquids into, nor use such substances in any part of, the premises without written permission from the Trustees. Any drapes, curtains or cloth fabric used as part of productions on the stage or in any of the rooms must comply with Fire Regulations - BS5867.

No candles, oil lamps or portable heating appliances, shall be used by hirers on the premises without the permission of the Trustees.

j) The First Aid box shall be readily available to all users of the premises. The First Aid box and accident/incident report forms are located in the Cloakroom I Ticket Office. A form shall be completed for any accident or injury occurring on the premises, including ‘near misses’. A separate First Aid box is located in the Kitchen to comply with Food Premises requirements.

k) All electrical equipment brought into the building shall comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. All electrical equipment used in connection with public entertainment must comply with the recommendation of HSE GS 50.

8. Security

External emergency exit doors are to be kept closed at all times. The locking of other doors may be desirable in the interests of safety of (for example) young children, subject to the overriding requirements of fire safety.

9. Supervision

The hirer or person in charge of an 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. They shall not be engaged in any activities which prevent them 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 where under 100 persons are attending the entertainment. The number of adult attendants required is increased in the following circumstances:

a) where 100-249 people are present - to three;

b) where 250-500 people are present - to four;

c) when the majority of those present at the entertainment are less than 16 years of age, or when many people with disabilities are expected to attend, the numbers of adult supervisors required will be increased in agreement with Hirer and the General Committee. Provision of these attendants/supervisors is the responsibility of the Hirer.

All persons in charge or on duty shall familiarise themselves with the fire notices and fire-fighting equipment provided.

10. Safety of Young Children

No activities of groups involving young children under eight years of age will be permitted on the premises (apart from private parties) except with the written agreement of the General Committee, which will require that the relevant provisions of the Children Act 1989 and any conditions required by the Department of Health and Social Care are complied with before giving such permission.

In the case of all hirers, it is the responsibility of the organisers of the activities concerned to ensure that only fit and proper persons have access to young children, and that such persons shall at all times be in attendance upon young children who are on the premises for the activities concerned.

11. Food Handling

No food or drink shall be prepared on the premises, and only dry goods such as packaged biscuits may be stored or served. Canned or bottled drinks are permitted, but beverages such as tea or coffee may only be prepared and consumed on the clear understanding that no milk may be kept in the centre for any longer period than two hours.

Contract caterers may be engaged to supply food or drink prepared off the premises, subject to limitations as to the frequency of this practice. The Bookings Secretary must therefore be advised at the time of initial enquiry if the use of caterers is intended.

Hirers will be advised if the premises become registered under the Food Safety Act 1990 (Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991). A greater range of food activities will then be permitted but Food Handlers would require appropriate training.

12. Intoxicating Liquor

No intoxicating liquors are permitted to be bought or sold on any part of the premises without

the express permission in writing of the General Committee, whose consent must also be obtained prior to seeking any Occasional Licence or Permission for the sale of alcoholic liquor.

13. Music in the Hall

Hirers and organisers of events in the 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 to the occupiers of nearby flats and houses.

The premises are licensed with the Performing Right Society (PRS), for the performance of copyright music.

The hall’s licence with Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), on the other hand, does not cover the performance of recorded music by affiliated groups and other hirers of the premises, who must consult the Hon. Secretary before making arrangements for the use of recorded 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 PPL and, if so, to obtain one.

14. 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 groups responsible for functions held in the hall shall ensure

15. Storage

The permission of the General Committee must be obtained before goods or equipment are left or stored at the hall, except that the Bookings Secretary is authorised to grant permission for the overnight storage of goods and equipment brought to the hall for a particular function or event.

16. Posters

Posters and similar material must only be posted on notice boards. Material must not be fixed directly to the walls.

17. Heating I Ventilation Installations

Fully automatic heating systems are installed. Controls must not be interfered with. Any malfunction must be reported to the Bookings Secretary. Correct functioning of the warm Icool air system in the Ballroom requires that the external emergency exit doors and the doors into the corridors are kept closed.

18. Lighting

The lighting fittings in the Hall are fitted with special high efficiency lamps with a long warm-up time. Refer to the instructions posted alongside the switches.

19. Loss of Property

The General Committee cannot accept responsibility for damage to or the loss or theft of, hirer’s property and effects.

20. Car parking

Vehicles shall not be parked so as to cause an obstruction at the entrance to, or exits from, the hall. Parking in the Village Centre must be restricted to defined spaces. Users of the hall must avoid creating undue noise on arrival and especially during late evening departures.

Consideration to nearby residents must be given at all times.

21. Nuisance

a) Litter shall not be left in or around the hall premises.

b) Except in the case of trained dogs for the handicapped, animals shall only be permitted on the hall premises in connection with organised activities such as dog training or pet shows.

c) Hirers and organisers of events in the 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 flats and houses.

d) The emergency exit doors in the Hall must be kept closed where this is necessary to prevent a noise nuisance.

22. Official Visitors

Any visits to a function, held by a hirer, by an official in the course of their duty, e.g. Emergency Services, Fire Protection Officer, Premises Licensing, Environmental Health, must be notified without delay to any one of the CDVH keyholders, whose contact details are displayed in the Foyer.

23. Cleaning and Security

All use of hall premises and facilities is subject to the user accepting responsibility for setting out requires furniture and equipment, returning everything to their original position and for securing doors and windows of the premises. All lights must be turned off on leaving the premises. The premises will be checked by a CDVH representative at the end of the hire period. All users shall also leave the premises and surrounds in a clean and tidy condition. Failure to do so will result in additional charges being imposed.

24. Waste Disposal

All users of the hall are required to remove all waste materials, from the premises on conclusion of the hire period. Failure to do so will result in additional charges being imposed.

25. Breakages I Damage

All breakages/damage to CDVH fittings, fixtures and equipment must be reported promptly to the Hon. Secretary.

Terms and Conditions of hire are available from the Bookings Secretary.