Parish Hall

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF HALL HIRE
The Our Lady of Sorrows & St. Bridget of Sweden Parish is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster and can only be used for purposes which are consistent with the charitable objects of the diocesan trust. It is a condition of all Hiring’s that the Hall will not be used for any purpose which is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church or which could cause offence. At all times the Catholic nature of the Hall must be respected. Any breach or potential breach of this condition will mean that the use of the Hall is withdrawn.

NUMBERS: To comply with health and safety requirements, during the rental period the number of people on the premises should not exceed 80 in the Parish Hall

THE PURPOSE of the rental must be stated on the application and must be acceptable by the Parish Priest.

KITCHEN: The use of the kitchen (appliances) is not part of this agreement and as such is not for use by the user group except as separately authorised by the Parish staff. The kitchen is out of bounds to allchildren under the age of 12.

FOOD may be brought onto the premises forconsumption. Allfood should bebrought pre-prepared
and ready for serving. All rubbish bags to be cleared by Hirer and taken away.

DRINK: Those hiring the hall are responsible for serving any alcoholic drinks they might bring onto the premises. The premises are not licensed; therefore, alcoholic drinks may not be sold on site.
MUSIC: Tape/Disc or live music is allowed, provided this is played at a reasonable level and will not disturb the neighbours in any way. Please ensure that your appliances are compatible and do not pose a risk (i.e. loose wiring, etc). If this rule is contravened, the music will be required to be turned off. No music is allowed after 10.30pm.
Breaking this rule will incur the loss of deposit.

All music performers and players must adhere to the instructions of the Parish staff, failing which the deposit will be forfeited and they will be asked to leave the premises.

RENTAL PERIOD: The rental starts from the time access is required to the premises and will finish when the last person is off the premises and the Parish is able to lock up. The rental period (start/finish) is declared on the agreement rental. Exceeding the finish time by 15 minutes or more will incur a £30 per hour or part of hour penalty. It is possible to arrange reasonable free access to enable the arranging and layout of food/music. It is in the interests of the hirer to ensure that guests do not linger at the end of the hiring period.
The hirer is responsible for the behaviour of all invited guests.

CLEANING: The premises are always clean and tidy when the rental starts and are expected to be left in the same state at the end of the rental period. The necessary cleaning facilities will be available to you. Failure to meet this condition may incur the loss of part, or all of the deposit
All rubbish bags to be cleared by Hirer and taken away.
Windows and doors locked with particular attention to fire exit doors. Lights out. Keys, where applicable, returned to the Parish office.

CAR PARKING: There is very limited car parking available. Access to the presbytery should be kept clear at all times. Cars are parked at the owner’s risk. Neither the Parish Priest nor the Parish Administrator of the Diocesan Trust shall be liable for any loss or damage, howsoever occurring, to vehicles parked in the premises car park.

DECORATIONS: Limited decorations may be put up but no nails, tacks, screws, etc shall be driven into any walls, floors, fittings, furniture or structure. The use of adhesive substances (blue tac, sellotape, Velcro, gummed paper etc) may only be used with written authorisation from the Parish office. Repair to any damage to the premises, walls, furniture or fittings will be withheld from the deposit. Decorations should be removed before the end of hire period.

SMOKING: It is illegal to smoke in any part of the parish premises.

DEPOSIT: A deposit of £100 is required at the time when the reservation is made. The deposit will secure your booking. Payment of the deposit implies that the person signing accepts the conditions as laid down in this Agreement. The deposit is a bond to cover any damage caused during the rental, serve to ensure that the premises are left in the condition they were at the start of the rental period, and that the booking conditions are observed. The deposit (or part of the deposit) will be refunded within one week following the rental date. If the deposit or part thereof is forfeited, a statement of explanation will be forwarded within one week.

THE RENTAL FEE:
The rental fee of £200 for 1-3 hours plus £50 per hour thereafter, covers the hire of Our Lady of Sorrows and St Bridget Parish Hall.
The fee is required to be paid at the latest, two weeks before the rental date. The undersigned is responsible to ensure the fee reaches the Presbytery in time. The Agreement is with the Parish and the decision of the Parish Priest is final.
CANCELLATION: Where a cancellation is necessary after the agreement has been signed, the booking fee (if already paid) will be refunded in full but the deposit will be withheld.

FIRE AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
Please ensure that all escape routes and the designated Fire Exits are clear of obstructions and security bolts at the top and bottom of emergency exit doors are opened. Break glass key holders must be accessible and you must be familiar with their use. You must also familiarise yourself and any key members of your group with the alarm and evacuation procedure, the muster point, and any fire fighting equipment (fire extinguishers and blankets). Before vacating the facilities, you must ensure the room is again secure by closing the security bolts.
Fire extinguishers must not be moved from their permanent positions unless there is a fire.
Seating arrangements must include sufficient gangways for emergency evacuation.
ACCIDENTS and INCIDENTS: We hope that you enjoy our facilities without accident or incident. However, in the event of an accident or incident, please record all details in the relevant section of the Parish’s Accident Book (located inside in the First Aid box) and report it at the earliest opportunity to the Parish office (no later than the next working day after the accident or incident). In the event of damage or anything considered to be a safety issue example on a gas or electrical appliance/ fitting, please notify the parish immediately.

INDEMNITIES:
The Hirer shall be responsible for:
Payment of the deposit and the Hire fee.
Indemnifying the Parish Priest, Parish and Diocesan Trust from and against all actions, costs, claims, demands and damages arising from any breach of these Conditions of Hire, any accidents or injuries sustained by any persons arising out of or incidental to the hiring and the Hirer’s use of the Premises.
All actions, costs, claims and demands in respect of damage to the Premises, or damage to or loss of property, articles or any items whatsoever placed in or left at the Premises by the Hirer or any persons attending the Premises in connection with the Hirer’s use of the Premises and shall indemnify the Parish Priest, Parish and the Diocesan Trust from and against such actions, costs, claims and demands.
Any damage (including accidental damage) to the Premises or to the fixtures, fittings or contents thereof and forloss of contents, however caused by the Hirer or as a result of the Hirer’s use of the Premises.
The Hirer shall effect, and shall ensure that any supplier shall effect, adequate Public Liability cover with an insurance company to a minimum limit of indemnity of £5,000,000 approved by the Parish Priest against the foregoing and produce evidence thereof on demand.
The Parish Priest, Parish and Diocesan Trust are not responsible for and shall not be liable for any loss due to any breakdown of machinery, failure of supply of electricity, repair work, leakage of water, Government restriction or act of God, or any other event which is beyond their reasonable control which may cause the Premises to be temporarily closed, or unavailable or the use to be interrupted or cancelled.

SAFEGUARDING: The Hirer is responsible at all times forthe welfare and safety of those attending the Premises in connection with their use of the Premises.
It is a requirement by law for any individuals involved in regulated activities with Children and Vulnerable Groups to follow Safeguarding procedures. To this end the Safeguarding procedure at the Diocese has recently been updated and it is recommended that a prospective Hirer is fully conversant with this Safeguarding policy, which can be found on: https://www.csas.uk.net/ Please also follow the parish Safeguarding procedure below, to fully complete the Hall Hire Agreement.

SAFEGUARDING PROCEDURE at Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Bridget of Sweden The Diocese of Westminster is keen to adopt a ‘Culture of Safeguarding’ across all our parishes. This is to enable the Catholic Church to:
Create safer environments and safer recruitment procedures for all members of the public who interact with parishes.
Organize a procedure to respond to allegations and concerns which arise in parishes.
Equip staff and personnel to respond and cope with these concerns.
Improve the awareness and knowledge around the safeguarding policy in order to enable support and advice to be offered when this is required.
Please follow the policies and procedures outlined on: https://www.csas.uk.net/

Each Hall Hiring Agreement should satisfy the above criteria as follows:

Has the Hirer followed Statutory CSAS Guidelines on the Safeguarding Policy?
Please confirm that all volunteers within the group have been DBS checked for the appropriate workforce: YES/NO (delete as appropriate). If so, please submit a record* of the relevant DBS documents, with this Hall Hire Agreement.
Please confirm that all volunteers within the group have been safely recruited during interview process: YES / NO (delete as appropriate)
Please confirm ID verification for all volunteers within the group have been checked: YES/ NO (delete as appropriate)

A Hirer hiring the Premises for a children’s group or groups must have his own safeguarding policies and procedures and must follow these. The Hirer will be asked to attach a copy of the organisation’s own procedures to the Agreement and by signing the Agreement affirms that these will be adhered to at all times.

Any group wishing to make use of the Premises that does not have its own procedures will be provided with a copy of the Diocesan Child Protection Procedures. The Hirer will be required to sign an affirmation undertaking to follow these procedures in relation to use of the Premises.

A Hirer of each club/group is required to demonstrate that it has sufficient liability insurance to provide for any ensuing matters.

Each Hirer is required to confirm that all relevant education and training has been undertaken, to promote safeguarding whilst they are hiring space from a parish.

Each Hirer should be informed as to how to report an incident and how to approach the Parish Safeguarding Representative (PSR), should the incident occur on the parish premises.
For further clarification or queries Hall Hirers should be aware of the updated information about the Diocesan Safeguarding policy which is available on the Diocese website at www.rcdow.org.uk

For any additional guidance they are also invited to liaise with the parish priest or parish administrator of the parish: on Tel No: 020 85601431or via email to: isleworth@rcdow.org.uk
*record = External Organisations/Groups/Clubs must be ready and available to provide an updated and complete record of DBS’ checked individuals should statutory agencies advance such a request to parishes that hire their premises to the above mentioned Organisations/Groups/Clubs when they conduct activities involving vulnerable groups.