Free community group room hire

Free room hire for local community groups at the University of Plymouth
Free community group room hire

Overview

As a proud Civic University, the University is involved in and works with their local community. This is most evident in their Equality, diversity and inclusion activities with a range of local community groups, educational groups and research centres both in the University and in the wider Plymouth area focusing on how to best support the local community in a sustainable way.
To build on local community work, the University of Plymouth is proud to launch a new community room hire scheme for local community non-profit groups and organisations on an ad hoc basis. There are no fees and no deposits required to hire a room for your community group, providing they meet the criteria. 
The University is a member of AccessAble and can provide detailed information on the accessibility of all of our sites.
Spaces can be booked up to two months in advance and are available between the hours of 9:00am and 17.00pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. Block bookings are unavailable due to capacity, the scheme can only facilitate one off/ad hoc meetings.
Any local group can request to hire a room if they meet the following criteria:
  • You are a non-profit group.
  • You are not aligned to any political party.
  • You will be using the space for the good of the community; it may not be used for any illegal or immoral purposes or anything that can cause public nuisance.
  • The topic or themes of the meeting must not bring the universities reputation into question, or risk drawing protest.
  • The content of the meeting must not include anything that could be deemed as hate speech.
  • You have a group larger than 5.
  • You are not running a ticketed event. 
  • You are not allowing third parties onto the premises.
  • You will not be using the space for performance, physical activity or anything that risks physical harm.
  • You will not be engaging in discriminatory language or behaviour.
  • All attendees are expected to comply with the University Policy (including but not limited to: the Dignity and Respect Policy, the safeguarding policy and the University of Plymouth external speakers policy. 

Frequently asked questions

What type of rooms are available?
The University has a range of rooms from classrooms to small meeting rooms. Most of the spaces will comfortably hold between 5 and 60 people. 
Most rooms have a projector or smart-board and a connected PC; these will be made available to you if you request this when booking and if a room is available. Most rooms are a mix of tables and chairs; please tell us if you require anything specific. 
We do not hire out any catering facilities or spaces to serve food and/or drinks. No food or drinks are allowed to be served on the premises. 
What are the terms?
Space hire is granted on the understanding that you will be using the space for its intended purpose as outlined in your application and that you will not cause any damage to the space and that you follow and all safety guidelines. Please bear in mind that the University reserves the right to refuse any request for hire and the University can revoke room hire at any time should there be cause for concern over its use. The University will not accept bookings from anyone aged under 18, or any bookings that involve the attendance anyone under the age of 18. You can only request a room through the online request form, and you must keep the University informed of any changes to your intended use of the room.
Due to teaching timetables and availability of our staff we are unable to book rooms in September, October, and January. We are also unable to accommodate viewings of the room. We will explain the space available to you once we have booked a room. 
As the hirer you are responsible for ensuring that all people attending your meeting comply with the University’s health and safety procedures while on the campus, including response in the event of an emergency. 
Rooms must be put back into the arrangement that they have been found in with tables and chairs set out accordingly and all rubbish removed. All attendees must comply with our safety procedures, in the case of an emergency please follow the process found in our Health and Safety Policy. 
How can I access AV Equipment?
If you request IT/access to AV equipment. You will receive an email from equality@plymouth.ac.uk on the Friday prior to your booking which will contain the PC login details for you to access the University of Plymouth Av equipment. 
The information contains both a username and password which can be used in multiple rooms at the same time. For other attendees please use the guest Wi-Fi, details can be found in the question box below.
Is Wi-Fi available?
Complimentary Wi-Fi is available for all guests at the University of Plymouth and all rooms are Wi-Fi enabled. Please search for “Guest Up Wi-Fi” on arrival at the venue.
Do I need special insurance?
You should already have public liability insurance, professional indemnity, and where appropriate employers’ liability insurance. 
All buildings on campus and activities going on in them (bar the exceptions listed such as physical activity) are covered under the university’s insurance. You will need to undertake your own risk assessments for activities you are undertaking.
Can I book rooms for an extended period of time? How far in advance can I book a room?
We can book rooms up to two months ahead of your requested time. There are some time periods that are unavailable due to the Universities Academic Calendar (January, May/June, and September). We can only accommodate Ad Hoc meetings; we cannot facilitate regular block bookings under this scheme.
Can I book rooms for the same time each week for an extended period?
Our room hire is designed to provide ad hoc opportunities for supporting community activities, we are unable to book rooms on an ongoing regular basis.
Can I hold an event that includes inviting members of the public?
Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate third party attendance under our scheme. 
The scheme is designed to provide ad hoc meeting space for community groups, we therefore do not have the relevant permissions/licenses to be able to accommodate third parties/ticketed events.

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