(The below document and associated FIRE SAFETY document, from the menu on the right, should be read by all hall hirers.)
GENERAL INFORMATION – ABOUT ST. PETER’S COMMUNITY HALLS
St. Peter-in-Thanet Parish Church has two Community Hall buildings that are adjacent to each other on Hopeville Avenue, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 2TR. One is called the Church Hall and takes 150 persons under our Premises Licence, the other is called the Portland Centre, which incorporates the Portland Hall (80 persons) and Mulberry Room (25 persons). The Church Hall and Portland Hall have underground storage areas, which can only be accessed by authorised personnel with keys. Access to the Church Hall and Portland Centre buildings is either on the level, by step or a ramp, which fully meet the requirements of Access Legislation.
GENERAL INFORMATION – HEALTH AND SAFETY
We ask that hirers mop up spillages immediately and put out a wet floor notice (signs are kept in the cloakroom- Church Hall and in the Foyer – Portland Centre) At key pick up they are given a verbal reminder of our security, health and safety information key points that are sent to them in the hire package. At this time hirers are also shown where to find the necessary equipment to mop and find the wet floor signs.
Emergencies – Hirers are asked to use the emergency contact list in the foyer to get help.
ANY FORM OF NON-URGENT INCIDENT SHOULD BE NOTIFIED TO THE PARISH OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR DURING OFFICE HOURS.
We also discuss health and safety issues and fire risk matters within our terms and conditions to ensure the safety of our hirers. In our correspondence we discuss the importance of reading our terms and conditions very fully. Our Terms and Conditions below particularly relate to health and safety issues. Please see below
- Under Health and Safety – “read what to do in an emergency and where the fire action notices are sited”.
- Under prohibited items – “not allowing deep fat fryers, candles, sparklers, fireworks, oil burners or liquid petroleum, not allowing tampering with fire equipment or blocking fire exits”.
- Under Smoking/Vaping “No smoking” policy
There is a first aid box and Accident book in each of our kitchens.
ALARM SYSTEMS
We have a direct line to our security company/police through our alarm system, together with a panic button system for the Parish Office for staff to use for the safety of themselves and visitors. Our Security Alarm Company provides us with a service once a year. Our last service was 3/2/22.
ASBESTOS
The Halls organised a contractor to come in to assess our risk with regard to asbestos some years ago. We were informed there was no asbestos in the areas open for public use. However, they did find an area downstairs in the locked underground storage area, which was sealed immediately and thereafter deemed safe. In 2012 the Management requested a re-inspection/survey of the sealed area, and an asbestos survey has now been compiled. No further inspection/survey has been arranged.
ELECTRICAL TESTING
Periodic testing – The Community Halls have an Electrical Contractor to service and issue the appropriate electrical inspection and Certification for both buildings. The last test and certificate was issued to us on 03/03/2018, and is due every 5 years (due 03/03/2023).
PAT Testing – The Community Halls also instruct a Contractor to complete and test and certify our portable electrical equipment. Any items not passing the test are either thrown away or repaired immediately. The most recent test, pass and Certificate was issued to us on 26/6/20.
Emergency Lighting – Our Emergency Lighting Periodic inspection and Test Certificates for both the Church Hall and Portland Centre were completed, passed, and certificated on 2/12/21
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
The Environmental Health Department periodically inspect both our kitchens and we have practices in place to ensure that we comply with all their regulations. No appointments are made, they come in unannounced. The last inspection was on 13/07/21 when we were verbally advised that we have been rated a 5 – Very good, for the Church Hall with the Portland Centre being exempt, due to no food preparation being completed there at present, However, we were advised that, should we start food preparation in the Portland kitchen again, the score would also be a 5 for the Portland. We have the general paperwork from the Environmental Health Inspector but are awaiting our official certification.
FIRE ALARMS
We have fire alarms in both the Church Hall and the Portland Centre which are manually tested and noted on a weekly basis by the Parish Office Administrator in fire test book. The Fire Alarms for both buildings were last serviced and certificated by our electrical contractor on 2/12/21.
FIRE EVACUATION We believe there is adequate provision for escape from the Community Buildings with Fire Action Notices displayed in each Foyer, detailing what to do in the event of an emergency, together with information on the Emergency Evacuation Point in Hopeville Avenue Co-operative car park. The Parish Office Administrator also encloses ‘Instructions and guides’ information sheet within the hire packages given out to hirers. On this document it explains where to find fire exits and where to find evacuation plan. The importance of reading and taking note of the contents of this information sheet is then discussed verbally when hirers come to pick up the keys for the first time.
FIRE EXITS
Information on the Main Hall and Portland Centre fire exits is sent out as above in the ‘Instructions and guides’ information sheets. These sheets are now given out within our usual hire packages to each hirer, as well as being discussed at key pick up.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
We have our Fire Extinguishers for both buildings tested on a yearly basis. The testing is carried out by CEAS and the date of our last service and certificate is dated 10/02/22.
GAS SAFETY CERTIFICATION
The Halls use a Commercial Gas Contractor to service our appliances and issue the required Gas Safety Certificate on a yearly basis. The date of the last test and certification is dated 23/09/21
HIRE PRESSURE SYSTEMS
We have no high pressure systems (vessels)
LEGIONELLA
Our last risk assessment was completed on 27/7/17. Having completed our assessment of this risk, we came to the opinion that our risk is insignificant in both buildings. The reasons are noted below:
- We have no cooling towers
- We have no showers
- We have direct cold water feeds into both buildings
- The temperatures of the hot and cold water taps in the Church Hall and Portland Centre fall in the safe are
- We have a constant thermo controlled electric hot water boiler wired into the Church Hall kitchen for hot drinks
- The hot water for making drinks in the Portland Centre is by using the cold feed and kettles
- We have no long stretches of pipes and hot water cylinders are sealed and kept at a constant temperature.
We were also advised that we present no risk for Legionella following an Environmental Health Inspector’s risk assessment on 9/5/17 when an inspector came here for a random check on our kitchens. At that time, we asked him to assess us for the risk of Legionella. The Inspector tested both the cold and hot water feeds electronically with a hand held temperature gauge and advised that both feeds were absolutely fine in both buildings. He also stated that as our hot water was kept at set temperatures in sealed tanks, with no long stretches of pipes going running to the taps, in his opinion we carried no risk.
LIFTS
There are no lifts in our buildings as the public areas are all on one level.
OIL/PETROL STORAGE
The Community Halls have no need to store either oil or petrol as we are a charity offering our halls for the benefit of the local community for events such as children’s parties, charitable fund-raising events, as well as many other regular activities on a weekly or monthly basis for subjects such as Art, Bridge, Horticulture, Pilates, Tai Chi, Yoga, Zumba to name but a few.