To Hire the Hall is relatively simple We have the inevitable form and set of standard conditions of hire. Thanks to problems experienced by many village halls in the past, charities such as ourselves get legal help setting out legal agreements and mostly it is to satisfy law and insurance issues. The document is quite large so rather than print it and post it around, it is here for downloading. Please notice that the considerations within are as much to protect the hirer as to protect us.

Please click the button, download and peruse our conditions of hire, (it will open as a Word document). If you have no difficulty in meeting our terms then please download a form. The form is also a Word document so you can fill it in and e-mail it. We used to think that the signature was key but its not, the agreement becomes legal when the initial payment is made and accepted. What is vital is that we know upfront exactly what you plan to do and who you are or who you represent.

Bookings for teenage parties are no longer accepted.

At the low end we have a little discretion where the family is known to us otherwise we will no longer take the risk, having had a number of bad experiences.

The typical scenario is that of an 18th birthday party, alcohol always turns up and often half of the group are under 18. We cannot be involved with underage drinking, so its not negotiable.

Where alcohol is banned by the parents the teenagers tend to arrive drunk or do their drinking in the playground, scattering bottles and cans everywhere, so we don’t accept that plea either.

Further down the age range there are older siblings bringing in their friends and so it happens again. Worse still is where the word gets out and then gatecrashing ruins everything.

The damage to immature kidneys is the parent’s concern ours is the mindless damage to the Hall that follows and of course possible legal proceedings and Police involvement.

A refusal often causes disappointment and offence so please don’t ask.

Insurance can be a problem, obviously we protect ourselves from all forms of public liability we can envisage and exclude all else via our standard conditions. Low budget events raising funds for good causes often have no such facilities so we have the kind of policy which extends to cover them too. This is why its so important that we know exactly what you are planning to do because its very easy to step outside the coverage provided. Any commercial venture is excluded but now we get into legal definitions somebody offering goods or services for sale by way of trade would not be covered by our policy. Where volunteers sell produce to raise funds for their community group no individual is drawing personal income and so it is not commercial. As a general rule if you are operating on the fringes and not sure, we recommend you play safe and obtain specific cover for the day.

Some activities require licensing, we hold an entertainment license covering much of what our hirers do but it has limits. Should your plans step outside those limits you will need to get yourself a license e.g. to sell alcohol. We have spent some time with the authorities at Uttlesford and put together a page of guidance, download it by clicking below. Once again if you are on the edge and unsure phone the Uttlesford number we have provided you will find them most helpful. I recently asked if we could give some of our craft fair customers a complimentary glass of wine and the answer was yes, so we will. While I was at it I asked if our Tombola was legal with current new gambling laws and it was but only if we sold the tickets and drew the prizes on the day, if we sold them beforehand it became a lottery and needed a license.