Terms and Conditions of Hire



Definitions and Interpretation

Management – means Festival Hall Management, Festival Hall Talbot Road Alderley Edge
The Hirer – means the person or organisation as set out on the Invoice.
The Premises – means Festival Hall as set out in the Booking Summary/Invoice

1.  Booking Deposit & Payment

50% of the hire fee is due at time of booking and the remaining 50% is payable no later than 21 days before the event.

Should any booking be made less than one calendar month prior to the date required payment of the hire fee is to be paid in full when the booking is made.

Failure to pay at the due time may result in the cancellation of the event without refund of the Booking Deposit. 

A refundable damage deposit of £100 may be payable on hire bookings. In the event of damage to any part of the Festival Hall and/or any equipment that belongs to the hall then the Hirer will forfeit their damage deposit and, should the repairs exceed the value of the deposit then the Hirer will be required to pay the difference.

Access to the venue is only allowed within the hire times and therefore if required, setting and clearing up time must be included in the booking and is chargeable.

2.  Licensing & Alcohol

No alcohol shall be brought by the Hirer on to the premises and only drinks purchased on the premises from the Festival Hall Bar may be consumed on site.

Where, in exceptional circumstances, approval is given to serve alcohol not supplied by the Festival Hall (such as at Wine Tasting events) the Hirer must show that they have the necessary alcohol licence to sell or provide customers with alcohol.

3.  Accidents

The Hirer must report all accidents involving injury to the public to the Management as soon as possible and complete the relevant section in the accident book which is kept in the Hirers Guide. Certain types of accident or injury must be reported on a special form to the local authority as in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)

4.  Animals

The Hirer shall ensure that no animals (including birds) except guide dogs are brought onto the Premises other than with the prior written consent of the Management.

5.  Block Bookings

The Management may cancel any Period of Hire to accommodate special events or one-off bookings.

Sufficient notice will be given to the customer which will usually be a minimum of 2 weeks but longer where possible.

Please contact the Management for information relating to booking and payment of Block Bookings.

6.  Children and Vulnerable Adults

The Hirer shall ensure that where an event involves activities aimed predominantly at children, they have appropriate child protection policies and procedures in place.

7.  Cancellation

All cancellations must be in writing by the Hirer.

The following Cancellation Charges apply:

Outside of 60 Days of the Event = 25% of the total hire charge

Inside of 60 Days of the Event = 50% of the total hire charge

We reserve the right to cancel this Agreement by giving you written notice in the event of:

• the Hirer failing to pay the appropriate charges in accordance with the conditions of payment.
• the premises becoming unfit for your intended use.
• an emergency requiring use of the premises as a shelter for the victims of flooding, snowstorm, fire, explosion or those at risk of these or similar disasters.
• we reasonably consider that such hiring will lead to a breach of licensing conditions, if applicable, or other legal or statutory requirements, or unlawful or unsuitable activities will take place at the premises as a result of this hiring.

8.  Electrical Appliance Safety

The Hirer shall comply with all relevant regulations regarding the safety of electrical equipment. The Hirer shall also ensure that any electrical equipment used during the hire, whether within the Hirer's direct control or not, has been inspected and tested as appropriate and shall produce on request the relevant test certificate to the Hall management. Hall management reserve the right to refuse the use of electrical equipment on the premises if they believe that the equipment on the date of hire fails to reach the required standard.

9.  End of Hire

The Hirer shall ensure that the Premises are vacated at the time specified on the Booking Summary/Invoice.

The Hirer shall be responsible for leaving the Premises and surrounding area in a clean and tidy condition. All equipment and other property brought onto the Premises must be removed at the end of each hire and any contents temporarily moved from their usual positions properly replaced.

10. Explosives and Flammable Substances

The Hirer shall ensure that highly flammable substances are not brought into, or used, in any part of Festival Hall.

No pyrotechnic devices (including fireworks and Chinese lanterns) are to ignited or used at Festival Hall.

11. Gaming, Betting and Lotteries

The Hirer shall ensure that nothing is done on or in relation to the premises in contravention of the law relating to gaming, betting and lotteries.

12. Health & Hygiene

The Hirer shall, if preparing, serving or selling food observe all relevant food health & hygiene legislation and regulations. If the hirer wishes to use caterers on the Premises during the event the Hirer must ensure that the caterers comply with all health and hygiene legislations and regulations.

13. Insurance

It is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that they have appropriate insurance in place to cover them for the use of the Hall and any equipment used therein.

The Hirer agrees to indemnify the Parish Council from and against all costs, claims, losses, damage or proceedings arising from any death, accident, injury or damage to any person whatsoever which may arise out of or in consequence of the use of the premises (except insofar as resulting from any act or neglect done or committed during the period of hire by the Parish Council and/or its employees and except losses or claims in respect of which the Parish Council is indemnified by its insurers where insurance cover is provided by the Parish Council).

The Hirer shall be responsible for any loss, theft or damage relating to any property brought on to the premises during the time of your booked event. The property of the Hirer is not covered under the Hall's insurance and the Hirer should arrange their own insurance for any valuable items when in the Hall.

If the Hirer of a non-commercial event engages the services of a person or persons who operate on a commercial basis, then the Hirer must ensure the provider has their own public liability cover.

Commercial Hirers must have their own public liabilities insurance and where applicable employers’ liability insurance.

14. Nuisance

The Hirer must not do or allow anyone attending their hiring to do anything on the Premises which is or may become a nuisance to the Management or other hirers or to the occupiers of adjoining or neighbouring premises. The Hirer shall be responsible for requiring any person causing such a nuisance to leave the Premises. It is the Hirer’s responsibility to ensure that the minimum noise is made on arrival and departure.

15. Public Safety Compliance

For safety reasons there are to be no more than 320 persons in the hall at any one time.

The Hirer shall comply with all conditions and regulations made in respect of the premises by the Fire Authority or Local Authority.

If the venue is hired as an empty and unsupervised facility the Hirer is responsible for fire safety and agrees to act as Temporary Responsible Person whilst occupying the building and have an Emergency Plan in place for the event. As part of this plan the Hirer should ensure they are aware of the:

• fire alarm points
• fire evacuation procedures, routes, refuge point and assembly point location of exits and escape routes
• the location of a telephone
• the location of first aid kits
• the location of the accident reporting form

The Hirer shall

• ensure clear and unobstructed access and regress is maintained to all emergency exits in the Premises
• ensure fire doors in the Premises are not be propped or left open at any time
• familiarise visitors with the position of fire alarm points, fire evacuation routes, fire refuge points and the fire assembly point
• appoint fire wardens who are trained in emergency procedures

16. Security

 If the venue is hired as an empty and unsupervised facility the hirer is responsible for ensuring that on exit all doors and windows are closed and the building is secure and the alarm set.

17. Use of Premises

The Hirer shall not use the premises for any purpose other than that described in the Booking Summary and shall not sub-hire or use the premises or allow the premises to be used for any unlawful purpose or in any unlawful way nor do anything or bring onto the premises anything which may endanger the same or render invalid any insurance policies in respect thereof.

18. General Terms

If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in force and effect, and such invalid or unenforceable provisions or portion thereof shall be deemed omitted.

No term of this agreement shall be enforceable under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by a person who is not a party to this agreement, but this does not affect any right or remedy of a third party which exists or is available apart from under that Act.

This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to any dispute arising under this Agreement.