Frequently Asked Questions

• Good central position between Northampton, Kettering & Wellingborough
• Welcoming period atmosphere with many character features
• Fully equipped kitchen with fridge, range-cooker, microwave & instant water boiler. Cutlery, crockery and various glasses are also provided, but of course you may prefer to bring your own
• Hire of the Main Room or Both Rooms together includes use of the 96 chairs and 20+ tables and half-size tables
• Maximum capacity of Main Hall rated at 200 people (not seated & feeling very full) or 120 (seated in rows -  N.B. we have 96 chairs). Sit-down-meal numbers would depend on desired level of comfort or cosiness!
• Toilets, disabled, and baby changing facilities in Main Hall foyer with access for Main Room and Both Rooms hire. Toilets but no disabled or baby changing facilities in the Green Room.
• Disabled or equipment access using ramp (to main hall only) . See also FAQ regarding Disabled Access.
• Good modular stage with curtains, with wings and centre back of stage access. Ideal for  band, choir, disco, or dramatic performances and rehearsals/practice
• Full fibre Ultrafast Broadband with Wi-Fi
• N.B. We have no TV licence, so, sorry, watching on any device of any TV service might risk incurring a fine!
• Heat pump operated full central heating, so it's always warm
• Private grass area behind hall (takes a bouncy castle in good weather), which also gives access to the village playing field with children’s play equipment. (This is a public area, not part of the village hall property)

We have TWO ROOMS for hire, available in THREE configurations.

1. Main Hall - Great for any event, group, club or exercise class etc.
2. Main Hall interior dimensions: 13.8m x 7.2m (max) + stage 7.2m x 4.0m  
3. Green Room - This is a smaller space, suitable for small groups only, perhaps a small choir or small drama group. You may wish to view before making a first booking.  There are no tables or chairs available in the Green Room. There is some limited bench seating.
4. Whole Building - This consists of the Main Hall and Green Room, the separate L-shaped room behind and alongside the stage, which is set up as a multi-purpose green-room and youth-club area. It also has an entrance (by arrangement for key safe code) from Back Lane. The combination would permit use as a true 'green room' for those presenting or rehearsing stage productions in addition to providing a serving space for a bar or food and drink at events using the Main Hall for tables, seating and dancing etc.  

• Kitchen facilities are included in the hire for Main Hall or Whole Building
• For party style or catered event bookings, the Green Room should only be used as a separate seating area, and/or an area for serving tables (buffet food, desserts, drinks, etc).
• The contents of the storage cupboards, and the youth-club equipment and games, are NOT included in hires, and we must insist that the hirer ensures they are NOT touched by attendees. To help with this, folding dividing-screens are provided to separate the items in this area from the usable hire space.

HOLCOT VILLAGE HALL ACCESS STATEMENT:

• The Main Hall has been designed to welcome wheelchair-users
• There is a wide front door, with level threshold and ramp access from the street
• There is a spacious disabled toilet in the foyer, with baby changing facilities
• The width of kitchen counter access-hatch accommodates most wheelchairs.
• The Green Room has its own front steps, front door, and toilets, and these are NOT accessible for wheelchairs, unless both rooms are hired (see next note).
• There is level access through wide double doors between the Green Room area to the above wheelchair-friendly facilities of the Main Hall; available only should both the Main Hall and Green Room be booked.

• A bouncy castle with height of 2.7m or less would fit anywhere in approximately one half of the hall.
• For castles taller than 2.7m, the constraint is that there are steel crossbars under the roof beams;
• This means that any part of the castle which exceeded 2.7m would have to have fit in the gap between the cross-bars;
• There are two spaces where taller castles (up to 2.8m in height) will fit. The preferred space is immediately in front of the stage. A castle of up to 2.8m height x  5.0m recommended maximum width x 3.6m front to back will fit here. The room is 7.2m wide, however we recommend that bouncy castles should not exceed 5.0m in width to ensure plenty of space alongside.
• The second space is in the centre of the room (rarely selected) which has a maximum 2.8m height x 5.0m recommended maximum width x 3.0m front to back maximum size.
• Should the bouncy castle have a maximum height of 2.7m or less, then a giant castle or other inflatable play equipment of floor size of  up to 7.0m x 5.0m would fit, leaving about half of the overall floor area free for other use.
• There are electric sockets on the side walls of the stage, behind the curtains, to the front of the stage, allowing electricity supply cables to run behind a castle at that stage end of the room, away from the children playing.  There is also a single electric socket on the far side of the room, approximately in the centre of the two spaces defined above.
• Safety remains the responsibility of the Hirer.

BOUNCY CASTLE SAFETY UPDATE

• There are emerging reports regarding potentially unsafe imports of inflatable play equipment and many community buildings and village halls are introducing checks to ensure the safety of children.
• Some venues have taken to banning the use of inflatable play equipment altogether. At Holcot we do not wish to take away this joyful experience and so have decided to follow an approach which requires you to make a simple enquiry to your inflatable play equipment supplier as follows: -

PiPA is The UK’s Inflatable Play Inspection Scheme - Check your Hired Equipment

• Any approved inflatable play equipment, whether for indoor or outdoor use, has a PIPA ID Number Tag and a current annual PIPA inspection certificate.
• We recommend that only PIPA approved equipment is used.
• Holcot Village Hall Association accepts no responsibility in the case of any incident, accident or injury resulting from the hire or use of any inflatable play equipment in Holcot Village Hall or its outdoor space, whether PIPA certified or not, howsoever caused.
• For your own peace of mind, please ask your supplier to provide the ‘Pipa Tag' Number of the specific equipment to be provided for your party and ‘PIPA Inspection Report’ Number associated with that Tag reference.
• You may then check for yourself on the PIPA Website; www.pipa.org.uk/ that  the specific unit of equipment to be hired is passed for play.
• On the day of your event, on arrival, please check that the PIPA Tag Number on the equipment matches the one given by the supplier. If it is a different Tag Number, please check that the provided equipment PIPA Tag is compliant.
• If you find that the inflatable is not compliant, and in support of children’s play safety, please follow the guidance on the PIPA website.
• If you require more information, such as equipment regulations and safety outdoors in windy conditions, please view the PIPA Website.
• If your supplier or equipment is not compliant, we may be able to assist you in finding a supplier of PIPA certified equipment.
• Non approved and non-PIPA certified equipment, whether owned or hired, should not be used at Holcot Village Hall.

• Please feel free to add your personal touch to our rooms.
• There is a wire strung at the top of the wall on the back wall over the windows. This may be useful to hang items on.
• Please ensure that any 'sticky' fixings or tapes are removed cleanly.  Damage to paintwork may be chargeable.
• No tacks, drawing pins or other nail or screw type fixings are permitted .

PLEASE ENSURE HELIUM BALLOONS ARE NOT RELEASED INSIDE THE MAIN ROOM

• IF YOU HAVE HELIUM BALLOONS OR SIMILAR INFLATABES IN USE, PLEASE DO NOT OPERATE THE CEILING FANS
• The Holcot Village Hall Main Room has two ceiling fans fitted to circulate the air. The controls are to the right of the stage. If you arrive and see balloons in the area of the fans, please do not operate the fans. 
• Escaped balloons tend to rise to the ridge of the main hall, where the two fans are located.
• IF BALLOONS ARE IN THE CEILING AREA AT THE END OF YOUR HIRE, IMMEDIATELY TEXT 07715 172490 TO ADVISE THE COMMITTEE.
• Strings on balloons are likely to tangle around the fan axles and may cause damage, or at least require someone to use an access tower to remove them. This is a difficult task.
• On receipt of your 'balloons on ceiling' text, and subject to availability, we will monitor the situation. However, if balloons do not descend within 48 hours and/or removal is required, the committee regrets that an invoice of £50 will be issued to the Hirer for immediate payment.
• We will also try to prevent use of the fans by others in the meantime to allow safe balloon descent, but this block on use can't be guaranteed.
• Should the balloons cause damage to the fans, a further invoice may be issued to cover the cost of repair.
• If you wish to give strung helium balloons to guests, we suggest that you do not take them into the main room but distribute them in the entrance foyer upon departure.

• We have flexible event dates and times to accommodate your schedule
• Resident rates are provided for all regular bookings, resident or non-resident. These rates apply for anticipated bookings of a minimum of 12 per year
• Regular Bookings benefit from quarterly Invoicing in arrears
• For Holcot residents who want to set-up a new regular user-group in the Village Hall (or to re-start a previous regular user-group that hasn’t met there in last 6 months): a special 'Taster Session' offer is available to get your group up and running and maybe provide free taster-sessions. Conditions apply - see FAQ

 Holcot Village Hall now makes a special offer to encourage Holcot Residents to trial a new - or re-born (1) - regular user group (2) in the hall. 

This is an opportunity to book 4 initial taster sessions WITHOUT HIRE CHARGE to provide these sessions.

Conditions: - 

• Sessions must be available to all residents (unless there’s an acceptable reason why not)
• The organising resident(s) must take every reasonable step to publicise the sessions - around the village as a minimum (website, posters, etc.)
• The proposal must come from a Holcot resident; they must be the responsible hirer for all the rent-free taster sessions
• The taster sessions Hirer must be present throughout all sessions
• The Booking Enquiry for these sessions must be in their name and address; however, the group leader may live outside the village, and may, if they wish, take over the hiring responsibility for any subsequent paid-for hirings following the taster sessions period.

Explanations: 

1. The offer to “re-born regular user groups” means a previous regular user group that hasn’t met in the hall in last 6 months 
2. “Regular user group” means a group, club or activity that would expect to rent the hall on a regular basis, with at least 12 pre-booked sessions each year