Village Halls Charter

Teesdale Village Halls Consortium has recently drawn up a village halls charter which sets out the commitments the Consortium will make to its member halls and in return the commitments member halls will make to the Consortium.

The charter was launched to all the member halls at the TVHC general meeting in January 2008.

TEESDALE VILLAGE HALLS CONSORTIUM CHARTER

Teesdale Village Halls Consortium strives to make your volunteering experience easier. We aim to work together with all our member halls to tackle issues and problems as one. We commit to providing our member village halls with:

1. Advice and Guidance on any issue relating to the running of your community building including:
• Legislation and statutory requirements e.g. the smoking ban, Licensing Act 2003
• Governance and day to day running
• Where to access funding
• Where to access training
• Insurance costs
• Health and Safety matters
We endeavour to provide this advice and guidance as quickly as possible and will refer queries to relevant organisations for professional advice if necessary.

2. One to one help and support: members of the TVHC staff will work with you if you require assistance with any particular issues.

3. Useful and relevant information; this will be shared with member halls as soon as it is received by TVHC

4. Information, resources and training on portable appliance testing

5. Resources including pre-printed booking forms, equipment hire: display boards, flipcharts, overhead projectors, laptops and a sound system.

6. Help T@PIT centres with IT support

7. Management of SETH group to help halls become more energy efficient

8. Publicity and advertising:
• Inclusion of information about your hall in Teesdale Village Halls Guide
• Website page about your hall and events taking place on www.teesdalehalls.co.uk
• Inclusion of your events in the monthly TVHC advert in the Teesdale Mercury
• Inclusion of your events in the weekly What’s On listings in the Teesdale Mercury
• Inclusion of your events in the bi-annual Teesdale events guide and on www.visitteesdale.co.uk

9. Marketing assistance - one to one help and support if required: branding/logos, production of newsletters, press releases

10. Quarterly newsletters sent by post or email with relevant information on training, events, funding opportunities, resources etc.

11. A designated grants fund for TVHC’s member halls for capital and revenue projects.

12. Partnership working with relevant organisations for the benefits of the member halls

13. Representation of TVHC at/on relevant meetings and groups

14. Four open general meetings per year for all member halls to attend

Membership (HALLS) Commitment to the Consortium

As a member of TVHC our committee commit to the following:

1. To provide information about our hall for the Village Halls Guide and TVHC website

2. To keep TVHC updated with changes to our committee members

3. To inform TVHC of events taking place at our hall on a monthly basis when requested and inform TVHC of any changes or cancellation of events to ensure accurate information is held.

4. To share information sent by TVHC amongst our committee and user groups

5. To inform TVHC of any reliable tradesmen or contacts that other member halls may find useful

6. Representation from our committee at TVHC general meetings (four times a year)