Churches can be used for all kinds of events and celebrations. From christenings and birthday parties, to flower arranging evenings and committee meetings, your Church is the perfect place to bring people together. But with event hosting comes rules and regulations that every venue needs to know. Here are a few things to bear in mind.
Check noise guidance
Churches are central parts of the community, and therefore often positioned in residential areas. It’s vital that you’re up to speed with the rules regarding noise in your local area. Find out what time music can be played until so that you can let people hosting parties know, and also ask them to make sure they leave quietly so that they don’t disturb nearby residents.
Make sure you have insurance
You need to make sure you have the right insurance to cover running events in your church. Speak to your existing insurer to find out if you need to extend your policy, or you might want to speak to another provider about specific cover for a single event.
Share an emergency number
You may not always have somebody from the church in attendance when an event is taking place, but you will need someone who can be contacted if there’s an emergency. Make sure their phone number is given to whoever is holding the event. You may want to ensure that they’re also a reasonable distance away should they need to go to the venue.
Do health and safety checks
You’re responsible for ensuring that everybody in your venue is safe – from the people attending the event to the staff working at it – so it’s vital that you do the necessary health and safety checks. You need to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, and then ensure that all reasonable precautions are in place to make sure the event runs safely.
Minimise the risks
Just as if you were hosting an event in your home, you need to think about what you need to do to minimise the risks of damage – both to the property, and to the people coming.
By making a hazard checklist you can identify all the potential risks and then put precautions in place to minimise them. The kind of things you’ll be looking for include: slipping hazards, fire evacuation procedures, moving machinery or vehicles, electrical safety, lifting and carrying requirements, lighting, heating and ventilation, as well as the size of the group attending and any risk that exits could become blocked.
It can just take simple steps, such as asking people to use plastic cups instead of glass, or keeping drinks away from a dance floor, to help reduce the chances of accidents.
Thinking about fitting a new kitchen so that you run more events in your community? We can help you through the process, from quote to installation. What’s more, our semi-commercial steel kitchens make it easier to keep your space clean and safe. Speak to Steelplan on 0844 809 9186.
