Can we hire the clubhouse for an event?

We have been asked whether the clubhouse hall could be hired for private functions such as birthday parties, anniversaries and similar celebrations.

To explain, under the agreement between the Residents' Association and Regency, the committee is not permitted to hire out the clubhouse for private events. The venue can only be used for Residents' Association organised and managed events, as the Residents' Association is ultimately responsible for the running of the facility and the associated insurance requirements.

The only exception to this arrangement is where the committee agrees to make the clubhouse available following the death of a resident, allowing families somewhere to gather before or after a funeral service.

It was suggested that the committee could ask Regency to reconsider its policy and allow private hall hire in the future. However, even if they agreed, we feel this would create significant practical difficulties for the Association. Any private hire arrangement would require committee members to be present in order to comply with insurance requirements. The committee would also be responsible for supervising events, securing the building afterwards, clearing away any rubbish and ensuring the premises were cleaned following each booking.

We'd also have concerns about the potential impact on neighbouring residents, particularly if private functions became frequent and generated complaints regarding noise and disturbance.

The committee has concluded that private hall hire would place an unreasonable burden on a small group of volunteers. It's worth remembering that such an arrangement had not been considered viable even when the clubhouse had paid staff, making it even less practical under the current volunteer-committee led model.