St John the Baptist Uddingston

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF HIRE

1. Parties to the Hire

The space reserved overleaf is let by the Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church to the Hirer named overleaf. The Hirer must not sublet or transfer their booking to other persons or organisations. Any extension to the hire period (short or medium term hire) must be agreed in advance with the Hall Committee and revised payment agreed.  During the let, the Hirer is in charge and should be present within the Hall during this period. During the let the Hirer should be present at all times within the Hall and has responsibility of ensuring good order is maintained throughout the event. The Parish Priest nominates the Hall Committee to act on his behalf to facilitate lets.

2. Payment

Full payment of the hire shall be paid at the time of booking or at least 28 days before the hire. Set-up periods are to be included as part of the charge period. Should any payment not be received by the specified date the Hall Committee reserves the right to cancel the booking. Payments may be made by cash or bank transfer.

3. Security / Damage Returnable Deposit

A returnable deposit of £100 (per let) will be charged in addition to the hire charge. This must be paid at least 28 days in advance of the hire. In the event that damage has been caused during a hire, or Hall keys lost (where provided), an investigation will take place and this deposit may be retained by the Church, in part or full, in line with repair / replacement costs. 

4. Cancellation

Either party can cancel this contract by giving 28 days’ notice in writing.  In the event of cancellation within 28 days of the hire, fees already paid may be withheld depending on the cancellation circumstances. The Returnable Deposit will always be refunded in line with section 3 above.

5. Hire Location

The hire is for the Church Hall(s) only and not the surrounding outside areas. Car owners parking within the Church grounds do so at their own risk. Vehicles must park within the marked parking areas.  The car park must not be used as a play or socialising area at any time.  The Hirer is not permitted to erect any external structures, including but not limited to, Barbecue Equipment, Gazebos, Tents, Marquees, Inflatables e.g., Bouncy Castles and other such structures.  Vendor vehicles are not allowed to use the car park during an event (such as Fish & Chip, Ice Cream, Cocktail Makers etc.). 

6. Insurance

Your event is not covered by Church insurance.  Please arrange your own Event

Insurance (cont’d)

insurance and ensure that any third-party Entertainers, Caterers or Services Providers

have adequate and appropriate insurance cover in place.

7. Animals

Pets, except Guide and Hearing dogs, are prohibited within the Halls and grounds.

8. Safety

As the Hirer,  I/the organisation am/is solely responsible for ensuring the premises is suitable for my/our needs, risk assessing the activities I/the organisation will be undertaking in the hall and putting in place suitable risk control measures for all risks, including safeguarding. All electrical equipment, displays, staging and other similar items brought in by the Hirer shall conform to all relevant Health & Safety electrical regulations.  Connections to be made to the electrical power supply by other than 13 AMP fused plugs shall be subject to approval in advance by the Hall Committee or their nominated person. Cables / equipment will not be laid across exit doors or evacuation routes.  All doors and corridors within and providing safe means of exit from the hired areas shall be kept clear and fire exit signs will be always visible. The Hirer will ensure that the legal capacity for the Halls is not exceeded. The capacity of the Small Hall is 35 persons seated. The Large Hall capacity is 100 persons seated.  Photographs of the Halls are attached.

9. Care and Use of Church Property

Use by the Hirer of any item of Church equipment other than chairs and tables shall be subject to approval in advance by the Hall Committee.  The full cost of repairing or replacing any Church property as a result of damage, breakage or removal will be made good by the Hirer whether this was caused directly by the Hirer or otherwise.  The Hirer is prohibited from using Confetti, Party Poppers, Spray String Aerosols, Smoke / Bubble / Foam machines within any part of the internal and external areas.  Flammable items such as Candles (except those placed on a cake), indoor/outdoor Fireworks or articles producing an offensive smell, steam, gas, smoke are also prohibited. All party décor should be put in place using the O-rings attached to the walls – use of pins, blu-tac and Sellotape is not allowed.  All décor must be removed at the end of the event. If access to the kitchen is part of your hire agreement, it should be left clean, tidy, cleared of all dishes and consumables, and all rubbish placed in black bin liners, tied and deposited in the recycle bin in the carpark.

Care and Use of Church Property (cont’d) Promptly upon completion of the hire all equipment and other items supplied by the Hirer shall be removed from the premises, all items belonging to the Church shall be restored to their original locations, and all parts of the premises occupied by the Hirer shall be left in a clean and tidy condition. 

10. No smoking premises (including vaping)

The Hirer acknowledges that all parts of the premises are subject to legislation prohibiting smoking in enclosed spaces, and will take all steps to ensure compliance with this legislation.  Further, the Hirer hereby agrees to indemnify the Church against any fine or penalty which may be imposed as a result of the hire of the premises.  Vaping is also not permitted within internal spaces.

11. Food Safety

It is the responsibility of the Hirer to be familiar with and abide by relevant food safety regulations.  Detailed information about the regulations may be obtained by contacting the Environmental Services Department of South Lanarkshire Council directly.    It is essential that the person responsible for preparing food possesses an up-to-date Health & Hygiene Certificate.  A copy of this certificate should be given to the Hall Committee or nominated person in advance of the function.  Anyone using the Church Hall kitchen facilities are required to pay an additional £40 to cover the after-use cleaning charge.  This amount will be added to the Let charge.

12. Fire Safety

The Hirer must make him/herself aware of the location of all emergency fire exits in the hall, ensure they are free to open, the position of the fire extinguishers, the alarm call points and the external assembly point to be used in the case of a fire or other emergency. He/she must notify the numbers attending to the Hall Committee or nominated person at the commencement of the hire and be aware of the procedures to be adopted in the case of a fire or other emergency.

In the case of any emergency evacuation, he/she must assist in evacuating those in attendance then assist the Hall Committee or nominated person with identifying that all persons have evacuated the premises safely and where this is not the case, assist with identifying those missing and where they were last seen.

Where the numbers making up the let comprise mainly children or disabled or impaired adults then the Hirer must ensure that sufficient responsible adult persons are in attendance at all times to assist with any evacuation from the premises that may become necessary.

As a guide to assist you it is suggested that in the case of primary school age children a ratio of 1 competent adult to 10 children be used and in the case of disabled adults where the disability is of a physical nature limiting their mobility there should be sufficient adults in attendance to evacuate the disabled persons to the carpark area.

You will also be required to give all details (age and last location) of any persons who have not been evacuated from the premises to the Emergency Services on their arrival at the Hall.

Please see the detailed fire/emergency evacuation instructions provided by the Church. 

In all cases where an evacuation is necessary the premises must not be re-occupied until the attending fire officer has agreed even if it is felt safe to do so. 

13. Miscellaneous Provisions

The level of noise produced during the hire shall be kept to a reasonable volume as determined by the Hall Committee or nominated person. Your event shall finish and the Hall cleared no later than 12 midnight and all music cease by 11.30pm.

The consumption of alcohol in and around the Church Hall is prohibited unless approved in advance by the Hall Committee.  A list of Preferred Providers for hire of Mobile Alcohol Bars is available from the Hall Committee.

14. Children, Young People & Adults at Risk

In respect of any hire involving work with children or young people, the Hirer confirms that they are familiar with the Home Office Code of Practice, Safe from Harm, and/or the publication Protecting Children, endorsed by the Scottish Office, or a document derived from either of these and approved by an accredited agency, and that they have an understanding of it and undertake to follow the code of practice contained therein to work with children and young people under the age of 16 years.  The Hirer will be required to sign a Declaration to this effect which includes an undertaking to follow the Code of Practice of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The Hirer confirms that all persons working with young people or vulnerable adults will have undergone Advanced Disclosure or PVG checks in accordance with Church’s Code of Practice.

15. Liability

The Church / Hall Committee shall not be liable for any claim for personal injuries to the Hirer, any person employed by the Hirer, or any member of the public, including any member of any organisation represented by the Hirer, attending the event for which the booking is made, nor for any loss or damage of any kind which may arise in consequence of any activities or operations carried on by the Hirer within or adjacent to the premises hired including the carpark, nor for any

claim, proceedings or expenses in respect thereof, except any claims which may arise through the negligence of the Church / Hall Committee solely as the responsible parties of the premises.  It shall be the responsibility of the Hirer to affect such insurance as they think fit in respect of their use of the premises, and the Hirer hereby agrees to indemnify the Church / Hall Committee against any claim in respect of personal injury or damage to property arising from the hire of the premises.

16. Respecting the Religious Ethos of the Premises

The Hirer shall make a commitment to respect the Catholic ethos of the premises during the period of the Let. At all times the Catholic nature of the premises is to be respected. It is the responsibility of the Hirer and his/her delegated responsible persons to ensure that actions or practices which are gravely inconsistent with, or offensive to, Catholic teaching (e.g., abusive, insulting, offensive behaviour, including content of any such entertainment arranged by Hirer, and Events promoting a secular lifestyle) are prohibited during the entire hire period. Any breach or potential breach of this provision will mean that the use of the premises is withdrawn.  

17. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Personal information which the Hall Committee holds pertaining to the Hirer is kept safe, secure and confidential. The Hall Committee only retains personal information which is necessary for the administration of Let agreements.