Public events (elections, big meetings open to the public) plus commercial events where the public would attend (like advertised sales) £30 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours. Commercial events not open to the public (like keep fit and dance classes) £15 per hour with a minimum of 2 hours. (£18 per hour after 5.30 on Saturdays). Village Organisations except for youth organisations. £6 per hour with a minimum of 2 hours. (£18 per hour after 5.30 on Saturdays). Youth Organisations. £5 per hour with a minimum of 2 hours. (£18 per hour after 5.30 on Saturdays). Parties including weddings. but excluding youth. £30 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours and a deposit of £150 (which will be cashed) Children’s Parties. £10 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours and a deposit of £50 (which will be cashed). Committee Room. NB access via spiral staircase. £4 per hour but The Parish Council contributed to its cost and therefore are not charged.

As a registered charity our remit is to provide the Village with a hall and recreational facilities but most of the recreational facilities are in fact provided by the Elsenham Parish Council who own the Playing fields, so we concentrate our resources on the Hall. As a charity we do not seek to make a profit but by the same token we must not risk the sort of losses that would, over time, deplete our funds to the point where the Hall and the investment the Village made in it, is lost by default.

Public liability and large building insurance is expensive and so are the costs associated with the fabric of the building of which we pay a share. Other costs too erode our reserves. The above categories are ranked on the one hand according to their ability to generate mess and damage and on the other hand the scale of resources available to the smaller village organisations.

The result of this is that the smaller organisations barely pay enough to cover their costs while the larger events carry a larger proportion of the overhead costs especially public liability insurance.

Finally we have had bad experiences with boozy youth events and purely out of self defence we have excluded them.

The key issue in cost is cleaning because the hall doubles as a school hall, used both as a gymnasium and a dining room the standards of cleanliness are therefore driven very high by the Education Authorities. Most village halls only need a quick sweeping through but ours needs much more care and the kitchen is especially important needing periodic deep cleaning. Please note also that the Hall can be in almost constant use so that in order to be ready for the Church on Sunday a Saturday night party mess has to be cleaned completely over night. We have long since passed beyond being operated by volunteers and so we must pay proper wages to properly employed staff (NB also Employers Liability Insurance) and for example overnight Saturday/Sunday, commands a high rate of unsociable pay.