Frequently asked questions

Address – Chapmanslade Village Hall, High Street, Chapmanslade, Wilts BA13 4AP

The hall is accessed via a short spur road off the main A3098 between Frome and Westbury, at the western side of the village.

There are spaces for approx. 60 cars but please note some spaces are reserved for adjacent residents. We do have parking for bicycles too.

The hall building comprises an entrance foyer with chair cupboards on either side, a disabled toilet and locked small bar area. The main hall is reached through the foyer, with an elevated stage [restricted access], doors to the ladies and gents toilets and to the fully fitted kitchen and small cleaners cupboard. The main hall has a wooden floor to suit exercise classes and dancing, dimmable LED lighting and remotely controlled theatrical lighting.

Outside there is a paved patio area, a football pitch, a children’s playground, and small area with gym equipment. An old cricket pavilion is currently used for storage and is not available for hirer access.

Yes, but in the first instance please refer to hall details on the website. However, if you are planning a larger event and this is important to you please contact the booking officer [Ken Davies] who will arrange to meet you at a mutually convenient time.

The various hire rates for the hall can be found here

Note that a rate discount structure is available for hirers within the Chapmanslade

Parish and for young persons.

Please note there is a separate hire agreement necessary for team use of the football pitch; this again must be discussed with the booking officer.

When the main hall is booked, this includes access to the kitchen and its equipment - excepting for the dishwasher that is subject to an additional charge and is key operation.

Chairs and tables are available for use in the store cupboards in the foyer.

(Please note the playing field and play park are village community facilities and cannot be

hired for sole use)

Payment is required in advance of the booking date. The booking officer will contact you for payment prior to the hire date. If full payment has not been received you may forfeit the period booked and we may accept bookings from other hirers.

You can pay by bank transfer or cash when you collect the key.

We do not hire the Hall to anyone aged less than 21 years, nor to anyone who may still owe money to the Hall for any reason.

There may be some activities or events for which we would choose not to hire out the Hall and which is entirely at the Hall Committee discretion.

On hire payment, a key will be given to the hirer on the day of the booking by the booking officer.

The key operates on the front door only, and when opened the lock automatically switches off the hall alarm. When leaving the hall after the booking has finished, the alarm is automatically reset when the lock is closed using the key.

The use of bouncy castles and inflatables is permitted both inside the hall and on the hall’s patio area but please note the hirer will need to have suitable insurance in place as this is not covered by the hall insurance policy as they are deemed a “hazardous activity”. Evidence of such insurance being in place must be provided to the booking officer on request - prior to being issued with the access key.

Refer the hall bouncy castle policy for further information at the base of the page

Whilst there is a stage, the PA equipment is owned by the Hall and Chapmanslade Players group, and is not available for hire. There is a large dropdown [cinema style] screen and ceiling mounted projector that may be used by hirers, but who would have to bring their own PC/laptop.

Details for the use of the projector and screen can be discussed with the booking officer.

The hall has a hearing loop for those with restricted hearing.

There is a mixer connected to the PA system with and aux lead and lightning adapter which

can be used by the hirer if agreed at the time of hiring.

Speak to the booking officer for details

Yes Wi-Fi is freely available for use by our guests, this offers reasonable broadband speed. The Wi-Fi network is called Chapmanslade Village Hall Guest Wi-Fi, and the password is on the noticeboard in the entrance hall.

Hirers must agree to the terms and conditions of use when connecting.

No, as the hall already pays fees annually for both PRS and PPL.

• PRS (Performing Rights Society – which pays the people who own the music) is tied to the building, and the hall pays for a PRS licence which covers all users of the building.

• PPL (Public Performance Licence/Phonographic Performance Limited – which pays the people who perform the music) is tied to the user.

Heating is available via floor mounted convector radiators in the main hall and instantaneous infra-red high wall mounted heaters. The latter are especially effective and operate by user initiation via a coin fed meter box on the front left hand side of the stage.

The hall has a standing [i.e. concert] capacity for 175 people, and a table seating capacity of 120.

Cushioned chairs and tables are held in the storage cupboards either side of the entrance foyer; there are 120 and 20 respectively. There is also 20 plastic chairs that can be additionally used or for outdoor seating.

The hall is fully accessible for those in wheelchairs, and there is a large disabled toilet off the entrance foyer. There is a gentle ramp into the hall building and no floor level changes inside.

Yes, within the disabled toilet at the entrance foyer.

The kitchen is comprehensively equipped. There are three built in electric ovens with grills,

eight electric hobs, a large fridge / freezer and a built in microwave. In addition there is a

kettle, plate warmer, hot water urn and jugs. The industrial dishwasher is available on

request for an additional charge. There are two sinks and a hand basin. There is a water

heater tank which is switched on under the left hand sink and a small water heater above the

hand basin.

There should be tea towels available but it would be sensible to bring your own

We have a large amount of basic cutlery and crockery / glasses for hirer use. A full matching crockery service is available for hire at an additional cost.

We ask that you book and pay for all the time you will be in occupation, but note there is an

allowance included within the hire rates for 30 mins to set up and 30 mins to clear down.

If you intend to provide alcohol at an event for which money changes hands at any point, you will need a TENS licence obtainable from Wiltshire Council. Alternatively, you can hire a

private licensee to run the bar for you. For example, you will need an alcohol licence if you

sell tickets which include a free drink, if you sell alcohol at a bar, or if you provide alcohol to

members of a club.

If alcohol is provided at the event completely free of charge, no licence is required. However you must seek the approval of the hall booking officer for all events at which alcohol is to beprovided.

There is a small locked bar area with serving hatch to the main hall; this is not available for hirer access.

The hall does have a potable bar area that can be pre-assembled for use by the hirer - on request.

No, but smoking [with due care] is permitted outside of the hall building.

Please ensure you follow the guidelines below if you wish to have a BBQ / spit roast or mobile pizza

oven etc at your event:

• A private BBQ can be placed on the patio area of the village hall but 3m separation distance is required. The BBQ must be supervised at all times. Only raised barbeques not less than half a metre above the ground may be used and must not be sited where they might cause adanger or nuisance to other Users. In particular they are not permitted on the football pitch, within Play Areas, on the Car Park, or within 6 metres of any boundary fence, building or tree. No hot coals must be disposed of in the refuse bins. No BBQ of any type can be used inside the village hall – including the kitchen.

• A hog roast or mobile pizza oven can be arranged by the hirer however this would need to be run by a commercial operator who is adequately insured for third party liability.  Typically they would be placed on the patio area of car park, with a separation distance of not less than 3 meters of the building. Wherever they placed, the ground underneath the cooking equipment must be covered to prevent heat damage to the underlying surface, and to prevent spillage, especially of hot fat. A copy of the insurance, and details of how the ground will be protected, must be issued to the booking officer prior to hire.

Please contact us using chapmansladevillagehall@gmail.com during the week before the event. Our booking officer will ensure you have a key.

Simply put – no. The Hall will be available from the time you booked, and unless you have made an alteration (with the agreement of the booking officer), that is the time you and your guests may enter. If the Hall is already open owing to an earlier event being in progress, we ask that you respect their tenancy of the Hall and don’t enter prematurely.

There is a comprehensive user guide to the operation of the Hall’s equipment in the manual placed in the rack outside of the kitchen. A copy is available here

Yes to the wall dado rail only [not the walls] and only using approved materials. Do not use clear tape as it leaves a residue on surfaces which is difficult or impossible to remove. We recommend the use of a proprietary fixing device for temporary use such as 3M Command hooks or similar. You must not attach anything to lighting appliances or to other electrical equipment – doing so is not only a safety hazard but can also cause damage.

Please refer to and familiarize yourself with the hall Fire Equipment and Risk Assessment prior to the hire event. As the hirer you are the designated responsible person and the safety of all users is of primary importance.

We’d be pleased if you would report it to the booking officer. If a malfunction is interfering with the proper running of your event, you should report it immediately to any of the people whose numbers appear on the Hiring Information Sheet.

The bookings officer. We have an understanding view of accidental breakage, but if we feel

an item has been broken through misbehaviour or similar we would expect it to be paid for.

We expect that all chairs / tables will be put away, with tables wiped first. The floors should

be swept using brushes / mops provided [held in the cleaning cupboard with larger brushes in the tables storage cupboard]. Food waste and general rubbish must be bagged and

removed by the hirer.

There is also washing up liquid, surface cleaner and cloths in the kitchen.

Please note that our Hiring Terms state that should the Hall be left in such a state that

cleaning by our local volunteers is unnecessary; we reserve the right to deduct the cost from any deposit.

The Hall must be vacated by the end of your specified booking period.

There is a bin provided within the kitchen and a red wheelie bin in the car park outside of the kitchen. Hirers are required to bag and take away all recyclable rubbish – we do not have the facilities to recycle at the hall. The wheelie bin is collected fortnightly [Hills Waste] and if there are events at the hall in between times the bin may be full. In that instance the hirer must remove all rubbish as we cannot allow bagged rubbish to be deposited outside of the bin.

Please contact the booking officer if you think you’ve left something with us. We will hold the item in question for a period of 3 months.

We aim to refund the deposit within a week after the event. Please note that we reserve the right to deduct an appropriate amount if damage has occurred or cleaning is required.

We should be very grateful if you wish to share any opinion of the Hall and/or the volunteers you have dealt with during the hire process. Please use the feedback form on the website or email the booking officer.

Internal volume is 16metres x 8.5metres x 3.5metres high to eaves