Terms & Conditions of Hire

St Just. Miners’ Chapel is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (No. 1180038). The Miners’ Chapel building and adjoining Community Hall is a community facility and public venue. The charity Trustees and Management Committee aim is that the Miners’ Chapel should be fully used, appreciated by, inclusive of and benefit all of the community.

If you are in any doubt as to the meaning of any of the Conditions, please contact us to seek clarification without delay. Proceeding to hire will be deemed as acceptance.

For the purpose of these Terms and Conditions ‘The Chapel’ shall mean the premises that is St Just Miners’ Chapel and will apply to the hire of the Community Hall and/or the main Chapel building with or without the forecourt.

1. AGE

You, not being a person under 18 years of age, hereby accept responsibility for being in charge of and on the premises at all times when the public are present, and for ensuring that all Standard Conditions under this Agreement relating to management and supervision of the premises are met. Where the hire booking is by a group or organisation, they should provide details of their nominated person(s) who will be accepting this responsibility during the event(s).

2. SUPERVISION

During the period of the hiring, you are responsible for:

i) supervision of the relevant parts of the premises, the fabric and the contents;

ii)care of those premises, safety from damage however slight, or change of any sort;

iii)the behaviour of all persons using the premises whatever their capacity, including proper supervision of car parking arrangements so as to avoid damage to the property and obstruction of access to / from the building and or the highway.

iv) any third party you or your organisation hire. Examples include, but are not limited to, speakers, soft play, musicians, performers etc. Any arrangements with such parties should be made directly by you. The booking of The Chapel will not be discussed with anyone but the hirer.

As directed by us, you must make good or pay for all damage (including accidental damage) to the premises or to the fixtures, fittings or contents and for loss of contents. Any damage or equipment failure must be reported to the Bookings Team as soon as feasible.

3. USE OF PREMISES

You must not use the premises (including the forecourt car park) for any purpose other than that described on the booking as detailed in the Hallmaster booking system and must not sub-hire or use the premises or allow the premises to be used for any unlawful or unsuitable purpose or in any unlawful way nor do anything or bring on to the premises anything which might endanger the premises or render invalid any insurance policies covering the premises.

Noise, nuisance or disturbance to the detriment of occupiers of adjacent or nearby property is strictly prohibited.

4. RATES AND TIMES OF HIRE

Hire rates are charged per hour pro rata per quarter hour
Minimum booking time is one hour
Hire rates and security deposits are set by the Management Committee and advised at the time of booking.
Access to areas not part of the booking is not permitted without agreement of the Management Committee and additional charges may be incurred.
Any equipment required for the booking, such as the kitchen oven, organs, piano or PA system, should be declared at the time of the booking.
Only approved users will be allowed to use the equipment once instruction has taken place prior to the event.
Additional charges may apply to some equipment which will be outlined at the time of request; for example use of the oven will incur an additional hourly rate.
No equipment, tables or chairs should be taken outside The Chapel at any time.
If you call out one of the team during your booking of the premises as a result of a fault caused by you it is at the discretion of the charity whether to make a reasonable charge. You will be informed of the amount of this charge at the time of the call out.

5. HIRE PERIOD

The Chapel should be hired from the time you wish to gain access to the time you will leave including all “set up” and “clear up/cleaning” times. This is to ensure a smooth changeover for others who have hired the hall after you. The Community Hall is hired with a standard ‘set up’ of furniture – so all additional furniture used should be put away in the cupboards allocated as shown in the images on the walls. You are responsible for clearing up and cleaning after your booking.

6. PAYMENT AND LATE CHARGES

Individual events – The full hire charge must be paid upfront at the time of booking. Your booking cannot be confirmed until payment is made.

Regular events –You will be invoiced on the first working day of the month for payment no later than the last working day of the month. The Due Date for all invoices is the last working day of the month they were raised in, therefore allowing for any amendments you might need during the month. You must pay the invoice on or before the Due Date.

Any invoice remaining unpaid 5 working days after the Due Date will be subject to a one off £10 charge. Any invoice remaining unpaid 10 working days after the Due Date will be subject to a £25 charge and all future bookings may be cancelled.

7. CAR PARKING AND ACCESS

The Chapel has 4 car parking spaces available for use on the forecourt. Do not park cars on the cobbled granite area as it is not designed for modern traffic loads. You must ensure proper supervision of car parking arrangements during your hire.

For safety and preservation reasons, we recommend all visitors should use the level footpath from the road to the Community Hall entrance and avoid walking on the cobbled granite area, as it is uneven.

If you are hiring the Chapel and allowing access through the Chapel’s main entrance across the cobbles, please ensure adequate provision to assist people across this surface, if needed.

Alternative parking can be found a level 5 minute walk away in Lafrowda Car Park – St Just’s free car park.
Cars and other vehicles MUST NOT obstruct any external exits, or the right of way located down the side of the building

8. INSURANCE AND INDEMNITY

i) You are liable for:

a) costs arising from accidental and malicious loss or damage and for loss or damage arising out of your negligence to any part of the premises including its curtilage or its contents

b) costs arising from accidental and malicious loss or damage and for loss or damage arising out of your negligence inflicted to our WiFi service (if any)

c) all claims, losses, damages and costs made against or incurred by us, our employees, volunteers, agents or invitees in respect of damage or loss of property or injury to persons arising as a result of your use of the premises (including the storage of equipment) and your use of our WiFi service (if any), and

d) all claims, losses, damages and costs made against or incurred by us as a result of any nuisance caused to a third party as a result of your use of the premises and/or the use of our WiFi service (if any), and subject to sub-clause 8(ii), you must indemnify us against such liabilities.

ii) We will take out adequate insurance to insure the liabilities described in sub-clauses 8(i)a) and 8(i)b) above and may, at our sole discretion (determined strictly in advance of the booked use) and in the case of non-commercial hirers, insure the liabilities described in sub- clauses 8(i)c) and 8(i)d) above. We will claim on our insurance for any such liability you incur but you must indemnify us against:

a) any insurance excess incurred and

b) the difference between the amount of the liability and the monies we receive under the insurance policy.

iii) Where we do not insure the liabilities described in sub-clauses 8(i)c) and 8(i)d) above, you must take out adequate insurance to insure such liability and when asked must produce the policy and current receipt or other evidence of cover to our Management Committee. If you fail to produce such policy and evidence of cover, we will cancel this Agreement and re-hire the premises to another hirer. We are insured against any claims arising out of our own negligence.

9. GAMING, BETTING AND LOTTERIES - including raffles

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

Raffles are considered lotteries and are subject to the Gambling Act 2005. Incidental raffles held at an event will not require a licence, but tickets must be sold during the event, and there are limits on expenses and prizes. If tickets are sold before the event, registration with the local authority as a small society lottery may be needed.

10. MUSIC COPYRIGHT LICENSING

You must ensure that we hold relevant licences under Performing Right Society (PRS) and the Phonographic Performance Licence (PPL) or, where appropriate, you must hold such licence(s).

You must have our written permission for performance of live music and the playing of recorded music under the Deregulation Act 2015. This Agreement confers that permission.

Your attention is drawn to the obligations set out in sections 3 and 16.

11. FILM

You must restrict children from viewing age-restricted films classified according to the recommendations of the British Board of Film Classification. You must ensure that you have the appropriate copyright licences for film. The Deregulation Act 2015 requires you to have our written permission to show a film. This Agreement confers the required permission on you. You should obtain confirmation of this in consultation with the Management Committee.

12. CAPACITY

The Chapel holds the following maximum numbers:
Upstairs: 160 Downstairs: 240 – Combined Total: 400

The Community Hall holds the maximum number of people as follows:
Standing: 150
Seated theatre style: 80
Seated at Tables: 50

13. SAFEGUARDING - children, young people and adults at risk

You must ensure that any activities for children, young people and adults at risk are only provided by fit and proper persons in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and 2004, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and any subsequent legislation.

When requested, you must provide us with a copy of your Safeguarding Policy and evidence that you have carried out relevant checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All reasonable steps must be taken to prevent harm, and to respond appropriately when harm does occur.

If you think someone is at risk of being neglected or abused in any way – verbally, emotionally, sexually, financially – and you need advice, here are some useful contacts.

The Miners’ Chapel Safeguarding Lead is Marna Blundy: marna.botallack@gmail.com

14. SECURITY / EVENT MARSHALLS

Any events which require supervision (e.g. parties, performance, concerts) arrangement must be in place to supervise the entrances, access and movement to and from seating areas. These should be attended by a responsible adult throughout the event. For large events you will be required to have a designated First Aider.

15. PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLIANCE

You must comply with all conditions and regulations made in respect of the premises by the Local Authority, the Licensing Authority, and our fire risk assessment or otherwise, particularly in connection with any event which constitutes regulated entertainment or which is attended by children. You must also comply with our health and safety policy, available in your booking Welcome Pack.
(Regulated entertainment refers to activities that require authorisation under the Licensing Act, such as performances of plays, live music, recorded music and dance)

You must call the Fire Service on 999 to TR19 7HT on any outbreak of fire, however slight, and give details to one of the named Chapel emergency contacts provided in the Welcome Pack.

i) Before the start of an event you should ensure you have made yourself aware of and read Welcome Pack instructions in the following matters:

The action to be taken in the event of fire. This includes calling the Fire Service and evacuating the hall.
The location and use of fire equipment.
Escape routes and the need to keep them clear.
Method of operation of escape door fastenings.
Appreciation of the importance of any fire doors and of closing all fire doors at the time of a fire.
Location of the first aid box

ii) In advance of any activity whether regulated entertainment or not you must check the following items:

That all escape routes are free of obstruction and can be safely used for instant free public exit.
That any fire doors are not wedged open.
The exit signs are illuminated.
That there are no fire-hazards on the premises.

16. NOISE

You must ensure that the minimum of noise is made on arrival and departure, particularly late at night and early in the morning. You must, if using sound amplification equipment, comply with any licensing condition for the premises and ensure the sound is not transmitted outside of the building at unacceptable levels.

17. DRUNK AND DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR

You must ensure:

i) No alcohol is consumed anywhere on the premises except that organised, served, controlled and or licenced by the authorised Hirer. The Hirer is responsible for ensuring that such consumption is limited to moderate levels and that any person consuming excessive alcohol is required to leave the premises forthwith.

ii) No alcohol be taken into, consumed or stored in the Chapel itself. The only permitted location for alcohol is in the Community Hall. The Hirer is responsible for ensuring this boundary is respected and adhered to.

iii) No illegal drugs are brought onto the premises.

Drunk and disorderly behaviour is not permitted either on the premises or in its immediate vicinity. We will ask any unauthorised person bringing alcohol into the buildings, being drunk, under the influence of drugs or who is behaving in a violent or disorderly way to leave the premises in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003.

18. SMOKING AND VAPING

Smoking and Vaping are not permitted on the premises, which includes inside and outside the Chapel within the forecourt and graveyard. We will ask any person who breaches this provision to leave the premises. You must ensure that anyone wishing to smoke or vape does so away from the boundary of the Chapel and disposes of cigarette ends, matches etc. in a tidy and responsible manner. You must comply with the prohibition of smoking in public places provisions of the Health Act 2006 and regulations made thereunder.

19. FOOD HEALTH & HYGIENE

You must, if preparing, serving or selling food, observe all relevant food health and hygiene legislation and regulations. In particular, dairy products, vegetables and meat on the premises must be refrigerated and stored in compliance with the Food Temperature Regulations. The premises are provided with a refrigerator and thermometer.

20. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE SAFETY

You must ensure that any electrical appliances brought by you to the premises and used there are safe, in good working order, and used in a safe manner in accordance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Where a residual circuit breaker is provided you must make use of it in the interests of public safety.

21. EQUIPMENT

We accept no responsibility for any equipment or other property brought onto or left at the premises, and all liability for loss or damage is hereby excluded. All equipment and other property (other than stored equipment) must be removed at the end of each hiring. Any request to store equipment for ongoing bookings must be agreed in writing by the Management Committee and insurance for damage or theft must be covered by you.

We may, in our discretion, dispose of any items referred to below by sale or otherwise on such terms and conditions as we think fit, and charge you any costs we incur in storing and selling or otherwise disposing of the same, in any of the following circumstances:

i) your failure either to pay any charges in respect of stored equipment due and payable or to remove the same within seven days after the agreed storage period has ended

ii) your failure to dispose of any property brought on to the premises for the purposes of the hiring.

22. ACCIDENTS AND DANGEROUS OCCURENCES

You must report to us as soon as possible any failure of our equipment or equipment brought in by you.

You must report all accidents involving injury to the public to us as soon as possible and accidents should be recorded by you in the Accident Book in the Kitchen. This is in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

23. EXPLOSIVES AND FLAMMABLE SUBSTANCES

You must ensure that:

i) Highly flammable substances are not brought into, or used in any part of the premises.

ii) No internal decorations of a combustible nature (e.g. polystyrene, cotton wool, candles, incense burners) are used without our consent. No decorations are to be attached to or near light fittings, sound system, projector or heaters.

24. HEATING

As a charity caring for a much-loved but hard-to-heat old Chapel, we need to balance keeping costs fair for small groups with making sure we can cover our bills and keep the doors open. To do this, the Community Hall heating is set on a timer at a steady level (22 degrees) and will be included in your hire fees, while any use of the main Chapel heating is charged separately, based on actual meter readings, so that groups only pay for what they use.

You must not override the Community Hall heating timer or temperature. If you want the temperature to be higher please advise us. There will be a reasonable additional charge per hour for temperature increases.

We recommend for an evening performance in the main Chapel building putting the heating on in the morning and reminding audiences to wrap up warm.

You must ensure that no portable heating appliances are brought into the premises when open to the public without our consent.

You must not use portable liquefied propane gas (LPG) heating appliances.

25. ANIMALS

You shall ensure that no animals (including birds) except guide dogs, hearing dogs and assistance dogs are brought into the premises, other than for a special event agreed to by the Management Committee in writing prior to the event. No animals whatsoever are to enter the kitchen at any time.

You must ensure that guide dogs, hearing dogs and all assistance dog owners are allowed on the premises.

26. INFLATABLES, SOFT PLAY AND BOUNCY CASTLES

You must inform the Booking Team at the time of the booking if you intend to use any inflatable toys or soft play. If you do use such an item, it must ALWAYS be supervised by responsible adults when it is in use and not used by Children under 2 years old. It should be restricted to use by age group detailed from the manufacturer’s instructions (eg 2-5, 6-12, over 12 and must not be mixed).

You must have the appropriate insurances in place to run this activity.

27. SMOKE, BUBBLE AND FOAM MACHINES

The use of Smoke, Bubble and Foam machines or similar items are prohibited.

28. FLY POSTING

You must not carry out or permit fly posting or any other form of unauthorised advertisements for any event taking place at the premises and must indemnify and keep indemnified us accordingly against all actions, claims and proceedings arising from any breach of this Condition. If you fail to observe this Condition you may be prosecuted by the local authority.

29. SALE OF GOODS

You must, if selling goods on the premises, comply with Fair Trading Laws and any code of practice used in connection with such sales. You must ensure that the total prices of all goods and services are prominently displayed, as must be the organiser’s name and address and that any discounts offered are based only on Manufacturers’ Recommended Retail Prices. All such goods must only be available for sale as a subsidiary adjunct to the main event or activity for which the premises have been hired.

30. WIFI SERVICES

i) Although we aim to offer the best WiFi service possible, we cannot guarantee that the WiFi service will meet your requirements. We cannot guarantee that our WiFi service will be always fault-free or accessible.

ii) It is your responsibility to ensure that any WiFi enabled device used by you is compatible with our WiFi service and has the appropriate security software to protect your device against external threats and malware. The availability and performance of our WiFi service is subject to all memory, storage and any other limitations in your device. Our WiFi service is only available to your device when it is within the operating range of the building router.

iii) We are not responsible for data, messages, or pages that you may lose or that become misdirected because of the interruptions or performance issues with our WiFi service or wireless communications networks generally. We may impose usage, or service limits, suspend service, or block certain kinds of usage at our sole discretion, to protect other users of our WiFi service. Network speed is no indication of the speed at which your WiFi enabled device or our WiFi service sends or receives data. Actual network speed will vary based on configuration, compression and network congestion.

iv) Streaming, downloading or recording live television and watching any BBC programmes on iPlayer is prohibited.

31. PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION

i) We, or our provider, may collect and store personal data through your use of our WiFi service.

ii) We, or our provider, may process all information about you which is provided in relation to our WiFi service in accordance with your legal rights under the Data Protection 1998 and solely for the purposes of offering the WiFi service.

iii) By using our WiFi service, you agree to the terms of this clause. If you would like more information or object to anything in these conditions, you should speak to the Management Committee.
iv) for the purpose of managing and processing your booking to hire The Chapel we will hold information which is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy

32. NO ALTERATIONS

You must not make any alterations or additions to the premises nor install or attach any fixtures or placards, decorations or other articles in any way to any part of the premises without our prior written approval. The Chapel is a Grade II* listed building with many unique and rare features, which as custodians we will continue to look after.

At our discretion, any alteration, fixture or fitting or attachment which we have approved may remain in the premises at the end of the hiring. Such items will become our property unless you remove them and you must make good to our satisfaction any damage you cause to the premises by such removal.

33. CANCELLATION

If you cancel your booking within 28 days of the date of the event, we require full payment of the hire fee. We may, at our complete discretion, waive the hire fee if we are able to make a replacement booking.

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

i) the premises being required for use as a Polling Station for a Parliamentary or Local Government election or by-election;

ii) our reasonably considering that (a) such hiring will lead to a breach of licensing conditions, if applicable, or other legal or statutory requirements, or (b) unlawful or unsuitable activities will take place at the premises as a result of this hiring;

iii) our reasonably considering that such hiring will conflict with our charity values and heritage listing of the buildings.

iv) the premises becoming unfit for your intended use;

v) an emergency requiring use of the premises as a shelter for the victims of flooding, storm, fire, explosion or those at risk of these or similar disasters.

vi) maintenance requirements that can not be reasonably carried out an any alternative time and /or date.

In any such case you will be entitled to a refund of any amount already paid, but we will not be liable to you for any resulting direct or indirect loss or damages whatsoever. The Management Committee reserves the right to enter the premises at any time during any booking.

If there is evidence of non-compliance with these terms and conditions of hire the booking may be terminated.

34. CLEANING AND TIDYING

You are responsible for leaving the premises and surrounding area in a clean and tidy condition, properly locked and secured, with all lights switched off, unless directed otherwise by the Management Committee and any contents temporarily removed from their usual positions properly replaced, otherwise we may make an additional charge. This includes, but is not limited to, the need for you to vacuum, mop or wipe floors and/or surfaces.

No charge is made for additional cleaning provided that all facilities are left clean, tidy and in good repair (including refrigerator and cooker if used). Any charges incurred due to breakages, poor cleaning, failure to replace furniture, etc. will be passed onto the Hirer.

Tables must be cleaned, folded down and put away and chairs must be returned to their original positions. All refuse must be taken away. There is no provision for refuse collection from the venues.

Please leave the facilities as you would expect to find them.

35. NO RIGHTS

Agreeing to these Terms and Conditions of Hire constitutes permission only to use the premises and confers no tenancy, exclusive possession or other right of occupation on you.

“Our hope and our prayer is that the Miners Chapel Charity can ensure that the great legacy of local Methodism will not be consigned to history and that our emphasis on social justice for all and practical service in the community, will be the basis going forward for the magnificent local asset that our Chapel building has always been, and we believe should continue to be.”

“I have attended numerous performances in the chapel and sung there many times in drama productions, community celebrations and commemorations. It is a wonderful building holding almost two centuries of memories for the people of St Just. The Chapel is altogether a great resource for the town and a valuable asset for us all.”

“The Chapel is not only of considerable local significance but is also a national treasure”

“I rate this chapel in the highest rank of all Cornish Methodist buildings. I rank it so highly precisely because it is in scale and architectural ambition one of the ‘cathedrals’ of Cornish dissent, so important to the county’s cultural history. For the ‘Tin Coast’ it is simply the lodestone, irreplaceable, evocative, deeply moving. Every effort to secure a viable future will be worthwhile.”

“The Chapel is now beginning a new chapter of its life, imagining a better future, where the lessons from history contribute to a fair, just and prosperous Cornwall. Where once again the Chapel stays relevant (and standing) for the community it has served past, present and future.”