Conditions of hire

These are the conditions on which the Murray Hall is hired. Sending a booking request means accepting them. Nothing is confirmed until the community council writes to say so.

What it costs

These are the current rates. You are charged whichever is cheaper, the hourly rate or the day rate.

The hall is hired for at least 1 hour at a time. You are charged whichever works out cheaper, the hourly rate or the day rate — you never pay more for a long booking than a day would cost.

Children’s events are free. A donation towards running costs is appreciated but never required. Tell us on the booking form what the hall is for and the council will apply this when it confirms the booking.

The rates above are shown to you when you book, and they are the same figures the booking form uses to work out your price. If a page anywhere on this site disagrees with them, these are the ones that count.

Making a booking

• Anyone may ask to hire the hall. You do not need an account and you do not need to live in the village.
• If you are not logged in, we email you a link to confirm your address. Until you open that link the time is not held for you, and somebody else can book it.
• Once confirmed, the time is held while the council looks at your request. It is still not a confirmed booking until we write to say so.
• A request left for [48] hours without the email being confirmed lapses, and the time is released.
• The council may decline a booking. If it does, you will be told why.

Paying

• Payment is due [before the booking / on the day / within 14 days of the booking] — the council has not yet decided this.
• Payment is by [bank transfer, quoting your booking reference / cash to the hall keeper] — to be decided.
• [A deposit of £— is required for bookings over £—.] — to be decided.
• Your booking reference is on every email we send you. Please quote it.

Cancelling

• You may cancel at any time by replying to your booking email.
• [Cancellations more than — days before the booking are refunded in full; later than that, — .] — to be decided.
• If the council has to cancel — because the hall is damaged, unsafe, or needed for an emergency — you will be refunded in full. The hall is part of the village’s resilience plan and may be needed at no notice.

Using the hall

• The hirer named on the booking is responsible for what happens during it, and must be present.
• Please leave the hall as you found it: rubbish removed, floors swept, tables and chairs put back, heating and lights off, doors locked.
• Damage or breakages must be reported. The hirer is responsible for the cost of putting them right.
• Nothing may be fixed to the walls or ceiling without asking first.
• The hall must be vacated by the end of the booked time. If you need to clear up afterwards, book the time.
• [Maximum number of people: — .] — to be confirmed against the fire risk assessment.
• [Alcohol: — .] [Music and amplified sound: — .] [Candles and naked flames: — .] — to be decided.

Safety

• The hirer must know where the fire exits and the fire extinguishers are, and must not obstruct them.
• The hirer is responsible for evacuating the hall in an emergency and for accounting for everyone present.
• There is a defibrillator in the village. [Location and access instructions to be added here.]
• Accidents and near misses must be reported to the council.

Insurance and licences

• The hall carries public liability insurance for the building. It does not cover your event.
• [Hirers running a public event, or a commercial one, must have their own public liability insurance of at least £— and show it on request.] — to be confirmed with the council’s insurer.
• If your event needs a licence — for alcohol, public entertainment, or a raffle — getting it is the hirer’s responsibility, not the council’s.
• If children or vulnerable adults are present, safeguarding is the hirer’s responsibility.

Your information

We keep your name, contact details and what you told us the hall is for, so that we can manage the booking and the hall diary. What we do with it, how long we keep it and what rights you have are set out in the privacy notice.

If something goes wrong

Get in touch with the community council. We would far rather sort out a problem than have somebody put off using the hall.

Version

These conditions are version [1]. When they change, the version changes with them, and anyone who had the booking form open is asked to read and accept the new ones rather than being held to conditions they never saw. Every booking records the version its hirer agreed to.