General Rules for Hall Use

General rules governing the use of Charlton Down Herrison Hall Registered Charity 1097442

Preamble : The management of the Hall is vested in the General Committee (the Trustees) of the registered charity, Charlton Down Village Hall. The additional title of Herrison Hall is also registered with the Charity Commission. 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 the 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 of 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 8.00am and 11.30pm, seven days a week, subject to the conditions of the Hire Agreement. Special arrangement for certain types of bookings may allow the hall to be open until 12.00 midnight but in these cases all clients must be clear of the hall by 12.00 midnight.

5. Maximum capacity: The premises have a maximum capacity of 600 persons of any category (i.e. audience, staff, performers, officials). On no account shall this figure be exceeded.

6. No smoking: There shall be no smoking anywhere on the premises, including toilets. From July 1st 2007 it is against the law to smoke in any enclosed public space, 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 is 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 Smoke Free 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 regulations: 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 its contents. Serious breaches of these requirements may result in termination of hire contracts during a hire session. In particular:
a) Obstruction 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 fully 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 key holders listed in the Foyer.
g) Performances involving danger to the public shall not be given.
h) Seating plans in the Ballroom 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 written permission of the Trustees.
j) The First Aid boxes are located in the Kitchen and office. The Accident Book is in the kitchen in a clearly marked drawer.
k) All electrical equipment bought into the building shall comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. All electrical equipment used in conjunction 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 the 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 or supervisors is the responsibility of the hirer. All persons in charge or on duty shall familiarise themselves with the fire notices and the fire-fighting equipment provided.

10. Safety of Young Children: Children’s groups involving young children under eight years of age will be permitted on the premises with the written agreement of the General Committee. Permission is requested simply by requesting the booking through the online booking system which will then be confirmed by the representative of the Trustees. These groups 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 and 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 : Contract Caterers may be engaged to supply food or drink, and all Hirers must be aware of and comply with all current Food & Food Handling regulations. The Bookings Secretary must therefore be advised at the time of initial enquiry if the use of caterers is intended.

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 be obtained.

13. Music in the Hall: Hirers and organisers of events in the Hall are responsible for ensuring that the noise levels of their functions is not such as to interfere with other activities within the building, nor to cause inconvenience to the occupiers of nearby houses  and apartments.    The premises are licensed with the Performing Rights Society (PRS), for the performance of copyright music.The Hall is licensed with Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). Hirers intending performance of recorded music must consult the Hon. Secretary before making arrangements for such 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 persons or groups responsible for functions held in the Hall shall ensure that this ruling is adhered to. The Hall does not hold licences for such activities.

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 designated areas. Material must not be fixed directly to the walls.

17. Heating/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/cool air system in the Ballroom requires that the external emergency doors and the doors into the corridors are kept closed.

18. Lighting: The ceiling light fittings in the Ballroom are fitted with special high efficiency lamps with a long warm-up time. Refer to the instructions posted alongside the switches. The up lighters in the Ballroom are on dimmer switches.

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

20. Car Parking: Vehicles shall not be parked so as to cause obstruction at the entrance to, or exits from the Hall or adjoining Redwood House & Greenwood House apartment blocks. 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, and Environmental Health et al must be notified without delay to any one of the CDVH key holders, whose contact details are shown in the Foyer.

23. Cleaning and Security: All use of Hall premises and facilities is subject to the user accepting responsibility for setting out required furniture and equipment, returning everything to their original positions 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/Damage: All breakages/damage to CDVH fittings, fixtures and equipment must be reported promptly to the Hon. Secretary.