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General conditions of letting
Application, hiring and acceptance of letting
a) With the exception of the matters referred to under
general notes further down this
page, these general conditions for letting apply to all
lettings of the Guildhall Chamber and/or the Members’ Room. Medway
Council, its employees and agents are referred to as “the
council”.
b) Hirers must be aged 21 years or over and the council reserves
the right to require the production of proof of age.
c) Your application must be on the form provided. The council
reserves the right to refuse your application without giving any
reason but if your application is accepted, you will need to
confirm the hire arrangement in writing. The council reserves the
right to ask hirers to pay the hire charges not less than two weeks
before the date of the letting.
If payment is not forthcoming within this timescale the letting
will be automatically cancelled and the council will be at liberty
to re-let the premises.
d) Hirers booking the Guildhall Chamber and/or the Members’ Room
should be aware that the council reviews its scale of hire charges
each year. New charges are introduced on 1 April each year. If,
therefore, your future booking falls either on or after 1 April,
the new scale of charges will apply.
e) The premises or part thereof may not be sub-let or sub-hired
(neither may possession nor occupation be given) to a third party
or parties without the prior written consent of the council.
f) Museum premises cannot be hired for meetings or activities
that are overtly religious or political in nature or for events
where the sole purpose of the hiring is to generate income or
profit for the hirer. No items may be offered for sale by hirers on
the museum premises without the written consent of the council.
g) Museum premises are not to be used for any activities that
involve gambling, lotteries, raffles or sweepstakes etc.
h) Museum premises are not available for hire for private
parties or similar social events.
2. The council’s power to cancel a letting
a) After premises have been let, the council still reserves the
right of not less than two weeks’ notice to you to cancel the
letting without giving any reason and without the payment of
compensation of whatsoever nature. However, any monies you have
paid to the council will be returned.
b) Further, after premises have been let, the council also
reserves the right to cancel that letting without notice (even
after that letting has commenced) where either:
- any of these general conditions of letting have not been
complied with or
- any of these general conditions of letting have not been
complied with or
- the council reasonably believes there is a significant risk the
letting will either prove to be of an objectionable nature or
offend public decency or that it may cause violence, unrest, a
nuisance or a breach of the peace or that it may involve or be the
occasion for an unlawful act.
And in any of these circumstances the council will not be liable
to pay any compensation of whatsoever nature but shall return all
monies you have paid.
3. Cancellation by you
If the arrangements to use museum accommodation are cancelled by
the hirer and five clear days' notice is given of such
cancellation, the council shall have the right to retain a sum
equivalent.
4. Cleanliness
At the end of the letting, you are expected to leave the
premises tidy and clean and remove any rubbish but if you do not,
the council will arrange for the necessary work to be carried out
and you will be charged the expense.
5. Maximum capacity
The maximum capacity for the Guildhall Chamber is 75 seated or
100 standing.The maximum capacity for the Members’ Room is 35
seated. The layout of chairs must be agreed in advance with the
council. (Kent Fire and Rescue Service recommendations must be
observed).
6. Exits
All fire exits, doors, aisles and staircases shall be kept
unobstructed (by furniture, equipment or otherwise) and available
for immediate use in the event of an emergency.
7. Fire safety and health and safety
Hirers must ensure that all fire safety regulations are
observed. In the event of an emergency situation arising, museum
attendant staff will provide instructions and supervise the
evacuation of the building.
The Guildhall Museum staff conduct frequent health and safety
checks and risk assessments of the premises. Fire exits are clearly
marked and attendant staff are on duty at all times during opening
hours to supervise evacuation procedures in the event of an
emergency.
8. Loss or damage
If damage is caused to the premises or if any of its contents
owned or loaned by the council are either damaged or go missing,
the council will repair the damage and/or replace whatever is
missing and you will be charged the expense.
9. General notes
a) Dangerous substances - no inflammable, explosive, toxic or
other dangerous substance or equipment may be brought into or
within the vicinity of the premises.
b) Smoking is not allowed in any part of the museum premises or
near entrances.
c) Risk minimisation - nothing shall be done in or near the
premises, which may increase the risk of fire or invalidate any
insurance policy.
d) Food and drink - permission must be sought from the council
in advance about the consumption of food and drink on the museum
premises. All catering arrangements must be approved in advance by
the council. The museum has no food preparation area or public
kitchen area. Any food or drink must be prepared off-site by
caterers.
e) Alcoholic drink cannot be sold or consumed on the
premises.
f) Random checks - the council has the right to carry out random
checks during lettings.
g) Toilets - there are no designated public toilets on the
premises. The nearest public toilets are approximately three
minutes walk away at Northgate. Access to staff toilets will be
granted in emergency situations at the discretion of the duty staff
but as the toilets are not designated for public use, visitors use
these facilities at their own risk.
h) Disabled access - the Guildhall is a Grade 1 listed building.
Unfortunately it is not possible to install lifts in the building,
so access to the first floor Guildhall Chamber and Members’ Room
may be difficult for visitors with mobility problems. There is no
wheelchair access to the upper floor of the Guildhall although
wheelchairs can be admitted to a small part of the ground floor by
arrangement with duty attendant staff.
i) Events involving children or young people - in the interests
of child protection and in keeping with the Children Act 1999,
special terms and conditions apply if hirers are hosting events
attended by young people. These include:
- children under the age of eight must be accompanied at all
times by a responsible adult;
- young people over the age of eight who attend activities should
expect to stay for the duration of the event or session unless
collected by an adult;
- two designated responsible adults must be present at all times
during the hire period to provide an adequate level of care and
supervision;
- the designated responsible adults must wear a name badge for
the duration of the hire period and be introduced to the children
or young people at the start of the event;
- on no account are children or young people to be left without
two responsible adults in attendance;
- no event or activity involving children or
young people should last for more than two hours without the
written agreement of the council;
- on no account should any event organiser ot
helper accompany children to the toilet.
j) Confetti - wedding confetti must not be scattered inside or
outside the museum buildings.
k) Dual usage of the building - hirers are reminded that the
museum is a fully operational public building that will be open to
visitors from 10am to 4pm each day. There may be noise
contamination from museum visitors and/or the High Street during
the period of hire. This is beyond the control of the council.
l) Ventilation - the Guildhall Museum is not equipped with air
conditioning. For various practical reasons it is not possible for
windows to be opened in the Guildhall Chamber.Temperatures in this
room can be quite high during the summer. Pedestal fans can be
supplied on request to aid air circulation.
m) Use of mobile phones - hirers and visitors are requested not
to use mobile telephones on the museum premises.
n) Animals must not be brought on to the museum premises. Guide
dogs and registered working dogs used by hearing-impaired visitors
are exempt from this rule.
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