Terms and conditions for Hirers

Condition of Premises

The Tenant accepts the Premises as being in good condition and repair and as suitable for the purpose for which they intend to use them. The Tenant agrees to leave them in a clean and tidy condition at the end of the period of use. The Tenant also agrees to pay the cost of making good any damage caused to the Premises through their use of them and to abide by Safety notices. An additional charge may be levied if the rooms are in an unacceptable condition.

Payment of Fees

AUC will invoice the Tenant in a timely fashion for their use of the building. Terms are 28 days from receipt of invoice. Tenants will be charged with room hire rates applicable at the time of their use of the building.

Timing of booking

Tenants are expected to keep to their exit and entry times. An additional charge may be levied if the tenant runs over.

Alterations

The Tenant shall not make any alterations to the Premises nor affix any item to the walls or furniture.

Other Users

AUC is a multi-purpose building. Unless a lease has rented all available spaces there may be multiple groups in the building at any one time. We would ask users to respect other meetings and to be aware that we cannot guarantee silence throughout the building.

Insurance

The Tenant shall be responsible for providing adequate insurance for themselves, those associated with them and their equipment and any property they bring into the Premises in connection with their use of them. The Tenant shall also be responsible for providing adequate Public Liability Insurance in respect of their use of the premises. If required, the tenant shall produce the relevant policies and premium receipts to AUC staff or officers.

Publicity

Please note if you are organising an event, it is illegal to attach posters and publicity onto lampposts and other public property. Please refrain from doing this.

Augustine United Church requests that all hirers refrain from associating AUC with their event in any way other than as the venue. AUC should not be named or alluded to as a supporter of your organisation or event.

Indemnity

Augustine United Church will not be responsible for any loss, damage or claim by any party of any kind, including claims in respect of any deficiency in respect of the Premises themselves arising out of the let. The Tenant will indemnify the Church against all such loss, damage or claims.

Children and Young People/Vulnerable Adults

The Tenant will confirm by returning a signed copy of the booking contract that they have appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place for working with children and/or vulnerable adults. Tenants working directly with children and/or vulnerable adults will be asked to provide a copy of their safeguarding policy to the Church Administrator.

Public Entertainment Licences

The Church Centre does not have a License for Theatre & Public Entertainment, as most hirers putting on a show in the building do not require one. It is the responsibility of the hirer to determine if they require a temporary Public Entertainment licence or not. Please refer to the City of Edinburgh Council Licencing webpages. Details of public performances & ticketed events must be discussed with the Centre Staff or a Church Officer prior to acceptance.

Sale of food and alcohol

Food and alcohol may not be sold on the premises without prior permission and the appropriate licence, if required, being obtained from the City Council.

It is the Tenant’s responsibility to obtain the appropriate permission to use any copyright material and to pay the appropriate Performing Rights licenses and copyright fees. This is particularly important when live streaming your event over the internet as some streaming platforms will take down any transmission they think is in breach of copyright laws. Event organisers must obtain permission from all speakers/performers who will be included in the live stream and ensure that they in turn have the rights to the material they will be sharing.

Security

The entrance doors to the Church Centre must not be left open and unattended. It is your responsibility to welcome and to let in people coming to your event. You must not let other people into the building. A bell is at head height on the right hand side of the outer door and rings throughout the building.

Health & Safety

A statutory announcement regarding exiting the building in an emergency must be made at the start of each and every event using the form of words provided. Evacuation procedures are available in each room. Please familiarise yourself with them. The lift should not be used in an emergency. The building is strictly NO SMOKING AND NO VAPING.

Stewarding

It is the hirer’s responsibility to ensure that sufficient stewards are provided to allow the safe operation of the event.

Equipment

An additional charge may be made for the use of our equipment. This must be booked in advance. Our equipment should not be used before training is given. Training will be given by a member of staff at a mutually convenient time. Equipment must not be removed from the premises.

Parking

There is no parking available on George IV Bridge, except for blue badge holders, before 6.30pm. You can load (for up to 30 minutes) and park with a blue badge (unlimited time) on the double yellow lines anywhere along the length of the Bridge as long as there are no temporary kerb markings present (short yellow lines that run at right angles across the double yellow lines).

Cancellation by user

Please notify the AUC office as soon as possible regarding cancellations. If less than 2 weeks notice is given for a cancellation, 50% of the original hire charge will be payable. If less than 48 hours notice of a cancellation is given, the full hire fee will be payable.

Cancellation by AUC

AUC reserves the right to cancel, refuse, reschedule or impose further special conditions or charges on any particular booking. In particular, should AUC require to make use of the Church for a funeral service, AUC reserves the right to cancel a booking. In these circumstances, as much notice as practicable will be given to the Tenants of the cancellation of the booking and AUC agree to seek to arrange an alternative booking for the Tenants and to refund the hire fee as applicable.

We would encourage all new users to be aware of our beliefs and ethos.

We may refuse bookings from some groups if we feel their activities or aims clash with the congregation’s inclusive approach.

Should the church be required to close due to more general Covid-19 restrictions/lockdown, AUC will cancel all affected bookings and refund any applicable hire fees. It is highly unlikely that we would be able to assist in arranging alternative accommodation however.

Complaints

AUC endeavours to provide a satisfactory service to all our hirers but in the event of a complaint needing to be made, we would ask the tenant to contact the Church Administrator in the first instance with a clear description of the complaint and any appropriate evidence. The Administrator will aim to respond within 5 working days and will work with the tenant to try and come to a satisfactory resolution. If the tenant doesn’t feel their complaint has been sufficiently dealt with, it will be escalated to the Church Officers and, if necessary, the Church Council.

Environmental responsibility

AUC is an eco-congregation and a Fairtrade church and tries to lessen its carbon footprint as much as possible – we would encourage all hirers to do the same.

  • Recycling facilities are provided in the building, please use these whenever possible.
  • We provide crockery and cutlery for groups putting on refreshments and would ask that hirers use these, rather than disposable items, wherever possible.
  • Giving majority world farmers a fairer price for their goods is important to us — please use Fairtrade tea and coffee where possible.
  • Please make sure all lights and heaters are switched off when you leave your room.

Use of premises

AUC is an active, inclusive Christian community who welcomes and affirms people of all races, genders, sexualities, ages, faiths and abilities, and works to promote justice and wellbeing locally and globally. The Tenant hereby undertakes not to publicise, promote, produce, perform or do any activity within the premises which is specifically anti-Christian or in direct opposition to AUC’s ethos.

The Hirers shall use the facilities in a way which is compatible with the Equality Act.

Data Protection

By completing our booking contract, you are consenting to us storing and using the personal information supplied to contact you in regard to your room hire and any other information relevant to your booking. We will not pass your details on to any third parties. A copy of our full privacy statement can be found on our website at https://www.augustine.org.uk/resources/privacy-policy/