Booking rooms in the Meeting House
Booking Conditions and Advice

 

 

The building in which the rooms are situated is a Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and its primary use is for Quakers to meet together for worship and fellowship. We are happy to welcome others to make use of the building, and do so in the expectation that they will treat the premises with respect. Members of the Meeting, and those authorised by them, have access to all parts of the building at all times. There is a no smoking, no alcohol and no gambling policy throughout the building. Food and drink are not generally allowed in the main meeting room.

Facilities

The Meeting House is available for hire from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on a Saturday. Outside of these hours, please contact the office. Bookings are at all times subject to the needs of the Quaker Meeting which may result in some regular booking times being unavailable on occasions. We try to keep this to a minimum.

The building has full physical access. There is an accessible toilet. There is a hearing loop system in the main meeting room.

There are fire exits via the main door, via the double door in the main meeting room, and via the doors on opposite sides of the smaller room. These are all clearly marked. Since the route from the smaller room leads to the garden, the gate to which is normally locked, the person responsible for supervising the evacuation of that room must take the key to the gate padlock, which is kept in an emergency container on the back of the door adjacent to the kitchen. This container is accessed by breaking the glass.

Groups using the smaller meeting room (at the back) are able to access the garden through the fire door adjacent to the kitchen hatch. Please note that the garden is secured by a padlocked gate and there is no entry or exit via that gate except in emergency. Please respect the garden. The bungalow attached to the Meeting House is occupied by people who are not connected with the Meeting, and that part of the garden beyond the flagged area is their private garden. Please respect their privacy and do not trespass.

There is car parking on site for 12-14 cars. Two car park spaces are designated for disabled users; please do not use them otherwise. To reach the building by car, using a satnav, use the postcode DN1 3QR, which will bring you into Oxford Place, where the Meeting House is clearly visible. Do not use the postcode which is the postal address of the building, since this will attempt to bring you in via the footpath at the rear, and not via the road. Other parking is limited, and on-street parking time is restricted and often enforced.

The building is within ten minutes’ walk of Doncaster Railway Station and Doncaster Bus Station. Walking directions can be supplied on request.

Meeting Rooms

The Main Meeting Room can hold up to 60 people. It can be expanded into the hall so as to accommodate a further 20 people. There is a drop down screen. Food and drink are generally not permitted in this room.

The Small Room holds 40 people, and has a partition which enables it to be divided into two. There is a drop down screen. Food and drink is permitted in this room. Please clear up afterwards!

The Kitchen can be hired with either room at an additional fee. It contains a cooker, fridge and microwave, and has adequate supplies of crockery and cutlery, which is available for use. Users of the kitchen may provide their own drinks; or tea and coffee can be provided for “help yourself” use at a small charge; or tea and coffee may be served during the daytime at a charge per head for those attending. If you use the kitchen, you are asked to follow our recycling policy. Please also wash, dry and put away crockery and cutlery which you use, and report any breakages.

For groups who wish to be provided with refreshments when the kitchen is already in use by another group, a drinks table will be supplied on request in the hall.

Flip chart paper and pens are available free of charge on request. The screen in the large meeting room operates by a remote control which may be borrowed from the office. The screen in the small meeting room has an integral switch. A digital projector is available for an additional fee. Extra tables and chairs may be obtained by asking at the office, or by taking what is required from the storeroom. WiFi is available throughout the building (but reception is better in some places than others!) and the password can be found on the noticeboard in the hallway.

There are baby change facilities in the accessible toilet, and there are sanitary wear disposal facilities in the accessible toilet and the women’s toilets. Please make use of these and do not use the ordinary bins.

All electrical equipment is PAT tested. Users bringing in their own electrical equipment are asked to ensure that it is also PAT tested. A user who does not comply with this condition will be held liable for any damage caused.

Coronavirus Information

We are supporting groups to make their own decisions regarding risk and applying social distancing and mask wearing accordingly when using our meeting rooms. We ask customers to consider their own unique risks relevant to their group members and activities.

Additional cleaning and hygiene measures will continue with regular hand washing and sanitising being available. We strive to provide a safe and welcoming space for all visitors to the building whilst being mindful of the different needs of groups and their personal choices.

Booking Conditions

1. Bookings must be made with the Lettings Officer, Lorna Buttrick, in person, by email (use our online room hire enquiry form to send Lorna an email) or by telephone (01302 343002). If the office is open, any member of the Meeting who is present will endeavour to make the necessary arrangements. Other members of the Meeting will deal with enquiries, but are not authorised to take bookings when the office is closed. The office is normally open from 9 – 2 Monday and Tuesday, and depending on staff availability may be open at other times.
2. Bookings are for a minimum period of two hours and are charged at the hourly rate notified to you. The time for which a charge will be made includes time for setting up and putting away; please ensure you include this in your booking.
3. Provisional bookings may be made by any of the methods above, but must be confirmed within fourteen days of the provisional booking being made, or they will be cancelled. The Office reserves the right to make a confirmed booking which supersedes a provisional booking already made at the same time. For a single booking, 50% of the hire charge is payable upon booking and the balance when the booking is completed.
4. If a user exceeds their booking time they will be charged for the additional time at the same rate as their booking. If the building is not left in a reasonably clean and tidy state, the Meeting may at its discretion levy an additional charge of £12 for any necessary cleaning.
5. Cancellation of bookings may be made without charge provided at least 14 days’ notice is given, not including the day of the booking. Any deposit or other payment made will be refunded. Later cancellations are chargeable in full at the Meeting’s discretion.
6. Invoicing and payment. Invoices are despatched at the end of the month in which the booking takes place, subject to the availability of staff time. Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date, and may be made by cheque, or by bank transfer. Details of the method of payment appear on the invoices. Credit and debit cards are not accepted. If payment is late on two consecutive invoices, the hire charge for that user will be increased by £2 per hour. This will apply to all future lettings. Further bookings will not be accepted where an invoice remains outstanding. Significant late payment may result in full payment in advance being required for all future bookings.
7. Refusal of bookings. The building is a Quaker Meeting House and must be respected as such. We therefore reserve the right to refuse any booking from a group or individual who does not comply with our Quaker values, in particular our commitment to peace, simplicity, justice, equality and sustainability. If it becomes apparent that this condition is not being complied with, the booking will not be allowed to proceed even if it has already started.
8. Responsibility of users. During a booking when there are no staff present, the main contact person present with the user group is required to take overall responsibility for safety and security within the building, and for ensuring that our requirements as to use of the premises are complied with. If nobody is responsible for supervising entry, the door must be locked. The premises must not be left unattended. In the event of a need to leave, the lettings assistant must be contacted or one of the emergency telephone numbers must be used to ensure the presence of someone who can lock the building, and the building must not be left until this has been done. No further bookings will be accepted from any group which fails to comply with this condition.
9. Comments and complaints must be made to the Lettings Officer in the first instance, whether personally, in writing, by email, or by telephone. A copy of our complaints policy is available on request.
10. Access to the office is restricted to staff and members of the Meeting. When the office is open, valuables may be left there for safe keeping.
11. Security. If the office is open, security issues are to be reported to the person on duty. If it is not, users are reminded of the need to prevent unauthorised access to the building. Users are required to ensure that all external doors are locked, and all windows closed, before their departure.
12. Fire. In the event of fire, the Fire Procedure displayed on the notice board must be followed. The building must be evacuated. If the office is closed, the main contact for the user group in the building is responsible for ensuring that (so far as possible within the limits of safety) everyone is evacuated from the building and the Fire Brigade are notified. The Lettings Assistant or one of the Emergency Contacts must also be notified.
13. Noise. If there is more than one group in the building, each must ensure that their activities do not disturb the other group. This should be checked with the other group, and not taken for granted. The building is a Quaker Meeting House and groups make bookings on the basis that it will be a quiet space. Sound amplification equipment is not permitted. On departure, especially at night, care must be taken not to disturb local residents.
14. Smoking, or the use of electronic cigarettes, is not permitted in the building or the garden, or the immediate vicinity of the front door. All cigarette ends are required to be removed.
15. Sharing the building. If more than one group is using the building, each group must respect the needs of the other group. If one group has booked the kitchen, it is not available to the other. If both groups have jointly booked the kitchen, then it must be used with consideration for the other group, and if necessary the shutter must be lowered.
16. Prices are dictated by the cost of running the building. If extra work is needed to clean or to clear up after a group, this will inevitably be reflected in our prices. Groups are therefore required to leave the building as they found it. This is particularly the case with the kitchen, where any cutlery or crockery used must be washed, dried and put away.
17. Any damage caused to the building or any part of it during a booking is the responsibility of the group using it at the time.
18. Lights in both meeting rooms are controlled by switches and must be turned off before leaving. Other lights are controlled by sensors. Heating in the main meeting room is controlled by the thermostat by the door. Heating in the small room is controlled by slider switches on the three electric heaters, and by the wall switch adjacent to the fans. Do not use any other switches as this may adversely affect the heating for later users.
19. Using the kitchen. The kitchen is small and like all kitchens contains dangerous equipment. No more than three people are allowed in the kitchen at any one time. The cooker and the microwave must be switched off at the wall when not in use. All spillages must be mopped up immediately and there is equipment for this purpose under the sink. In the event of an emergency concerning gas, electricity or water, the instructions can be found in the emergency booklet displayed on the notice board, and the handbook which is issued to all users, and must be followed. Care must be taken when carrying hot water across the kitchen.
20. Children are the responsibility of the group bringing them into the building, and the Meeting will accept no responsibility for any harm which may come to a child while using the premises. Children are not allowed in rooms other than those booked by their group. The group must ensure that all staff and volunteers are appropriately qualified and that they hold suitable insurance in the event of a mishap.

Disclaimers

No responsibility is accepted for injury or damage to room users caused by users themselves or by those whom they invite, by the failure to use equipment properly, or arising from the use of equipment by unqualified people. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure the safety of those whom they invite and their personal belongings, even if the office is open.

If children are present at an event, it is the responsibility of the user to ascertain whether those supervising the activities require a DBS check, and to obtain one if necessary. If a DBS check is required, the condition is not fulfilled because there are staff in the office or other Quakers on the premises. It is not permitted to leave children alone in the building without a supervisor from the group being present, even if there are office staff present. This protects both the children and the staff.