ºù«ÍÞapp

We warmly welcome you to the Town Hall and wish you an enjoyable, productive visit.

These visitor conditions are in place for the safety, wellbeing and security of our staff, visitors, and premises.

It is a condition of entry that you abide by these visitor conditions.

• the Town Hall is usually open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm
• the Town Hall is closed Saturdays and Sundays, and on bank holidays and over the Christmas period
• we regret that it may be necessary, when in the interests of security or public safety or to conduct essential staff training, for us to alter the Town Hall’s opening hours or close specific areas of the Town Hall at any time, and when necessary, without prior notice

Our staff or representative may refuse any person(s) entry (or ask any person to leave), if it is reasonably believed that the person is:

• intoxicated (that is, where the person is affected by alcohol or drugs especially to the point where physical and mental control is markedly diminished)
• behaving in an anti-social manner (including, but not limited to, using foul, abusive, racist, sexist, or homophobic language or other threatening, noisy or derogatory behaviour),
• failing to comply with reasonable requests of our staff or representative(s) or where there is reasonable cause to believe the person may cause damage or injury to persons or property or is acting unlawfully

Our staff or representatives may limit the number of people permitted into the Town Hall at any time.

The Town Hall can become a busy environment at times. You are asked to be patient and considerate to other visitors and our staff.

At the end of your visit, you are asked to leave the premises safely, quietly and with due consideration.

Our staff are identifiable by their identity passes. They are authorised to require you to comply with these visitor conditions or any directions given under them. If our staff believe you are intoxicated or behaving in an anti-social manner or that your conduct causes or is likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to other visitors, to our staff, or to property, you may be refused admission to the Town Hall and/or you may be asked to leave. In the event you refuse to leave when requested to do so, the police may be contacted.

Please be aware that we will not tolerate violent, foul, abusive, racist, sexist, homophobic language or behaviour, or other threatening, noisy or derogatory behaviour to any member of our staff or other visitors and that failure to co-operate with the lawful directions of our staff may put you at risk of committing a criminal offence.

In cases of serious or repeated unacceptable behaviour we may decide to ban any person(s) from the Town Hall and include their details on our internal Caution Register.

Subject to the exceptions below, you may not take photographs or record video or record audio on any device within the Town Hall. This is to ensure the privacy of our staff and our visitors. If you are seen taking photographs, or making a video or audio recording, you will be asked to leave the building.

This condition is subject to the following exceptions:

• any member of the public has the right to record, film, broadcast and report meetings of the council that are open to the public
• any member of the public may take photographs of documents involved in their particular transaction with the council or record audio of their particular interaction with a council staff member provided that the staff member consents to the photos being taken or being audio recorded. Consent will not be unreasonably withheld
• any member of the public may otherwise take photographs or record video or record audio within the Town Hall if they first obtain written permission from us. Any requests for permission should be made in writing to the Communications Manager at communications@crawley.gov.uk

Any form of reconnaissance or suspicious behaviour inside or outside of the Town Hall building may be reported to the Police.

ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Council may take legal action if we find that any person(s) has posted and/or published recordings or images of our staff or customers taken or recorded in breach of this condition.

In the interests of health and safety, you must not:

• consume alcohol or smoke anywhere in the Town Hall (and this prohibition extends to the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products)
• run within the Town Hall
• sit on any stairs
• block or obstruct entrance doors or lifts in any way
• leave any children in your care unattended, or allow them to behave in an anti-social manner
• climb or lay on any part of the building, or the fabric of the building including walls, furniture, barriers and columns
• disregard any safety signs or barriers put in place for public protection
• cross barriers, cordons, or protective spaces
• disregard fire alarms or any directions for the evacuation of Town Hall

If you do not comply with this any part of this condition, you may be asked to leave the Town Hall.

Fire Action Notices in the building explain how you should raise the alarm in the event of a fire or suspected fire.

Our fire alarm broadcasts essential information to assist you with when and how to evacuate the building. Please follow this and in the event you require support or assistance to evacuate, please approach a member of our staff.

If you are found by our staff in a non-public or closed area without authority, you will be required to explain your presence and provide proof of identification. You may also be escorted from the premises, and reported to the police.

Any personal property brought into the Town Hall entirely at the owner’s risk, and ºù«ÍÞapp Borough Council accepts no liability for any loss or damage to such items.

You must not leave any of your property unattended at any time in the Town Hall, including in any outdoor areas. We reserve the right to have unattended property removed and/or destroyed without warning in the interests of safety and security. We accept no liability in respect of the removal or destruction of any property that has been left unattended.

When any lost property is handed into our staff or found in the building, if we can identity the owner we will make reasonable efforts to contact you to collect the item(s). If we cannot contact you, and the item is a mobile phone, bank or credit card, we may contact the provider (for example, phone company or bank) and hand the item to them so they can contact you. In cases where we are unable to identify the owner, we will retain the item(s) for 6 months after which we will dispose of the items as we see fit.

Mobility scooters are welcome in the Town Hall.

You are not permitted to cycle or ride a scooter (except mobility scooters) in or around the Town Hall building including outside areas.

You may leave your bicycle in the racks provided but you do so at your own risk. You are not permitted to bring bicycles (including folding bicycles) or adult scooters inside the Town Hall.

Guidance, assistance or companion animals for people with disabilities are welcome in the Town Hall.

Any other animals may be admitted at the discretion of our staff.

You may be required to remove your animal from the Town Hall if it causes nuisance or annoyance to our staff or customers.

You should be aware that we operate a secure, CCTV system throughout Town Hall in the public interest for the protection and safety of our visitors, staff and property. See our CCTV privacy notice for more information.