Terms and Conditions of Pitch Hire

By hiring a Spelthorne Borough Council Sports Pitch you are agreeing to these terms and conditions of hire. Please note that any breach of these terms and conditions may result in the cancellation of bookings without refund and the Council refusing to accept bookings from the hirer in the future.

These terms and conditions apply to the hire of all sports pitches owned or managed by Spelthorne Borough Council including, but not limited to, the following

• Ashford Recreation Ground
• Bishop Duppas Recreation Ground
• Cedars Recreation Ground
• Kenyngton Manor Recreation Ground
• Littleton Recreation Ground
• Long Lane Recreation Ground
• Shepperton Recreation Ground

1.0 Bookings and Cancellations

1.1 Requests for bookings must be made either

1.1.1 by submitting the online booking request form located on our website www.spelthorne.gov.uk/pitchbooking

1.1.2 by email to customer services customer.services@spelthorne.gov.uk

1.2.3 in writing to customer services, Spelthorne Borough Council, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, TW18 1XB

1.2 Bookings will not be accepted by any other method.

1.3 The council will process booking requests within 5 working days of receipt. Booking requests should therefore be made well in advance to ensure they are processed in time.  

1.4 Your booking confirmation will act as your pitch permit. Separate pitch permits will not be issued. In the event a match is cancelled on the day by the referee they should endorse a copy of the booking confirmation. This should then be forwarded to the council with notification that the match did not take place. Notification must be received by the council within 2 working days of the match being called off in order to receive a booking credit. Notifications received after 2 working days will not receive a booking credit.

1.4 The invoice for payment will be sent to the hirer by the finance department after each booking has been confirmed. Payment will be due within 7 days of the date of issue of the invoice.

1.5 The maximum length of any block booking is one season. Season dates vary but are generally the beginning of September to mid-April. Please see www.spelthorne.gov.uk/pitchbooking for current season dates. Block bookings made for longer than 4 months can be paid in instalments at the hirer’s request. The hirer should contact the finance team on receipt of their invoice using the details on the invoice to arrange payment by instalments. Please refer to section 6 about VAT exemption rules to see how this may affect your payments.

1.6 Late bookings for one off pitch hire can only be made, subject to availability, up until 5pm on the Wednesday preceding the weekend’s games. Late bookings must be made online at www.spelthorne.gov.uk/pitchbooking and paid for at the time of booking.  

1.7 Bookings made for users aged 16 or under will qualify for the reduced youth rate. This must be requested at the time of booking otherwise the default adult rate will be charged and will not under any circumstance be adjusted retrospectively. Evidence of age may be required.

1.8 Cancellations must be made in writing by either emailing customer.services@spelthorne.gov.uk or to the address detailed in 1.2.3 above.

1.9 Cancellations must be made at least 5 working days prior to the date of the booking in order to secure a booking credit. A booking credit may not be issued if less than 5 working days notice is given.

1.10 Booking credits may only be used towards the next booking; they may not be used against current invoices.

1.11 Booking credits remaining at the end of a season or financial year will be carried over to the following season / year.

1.12 Unused booking credits will only be refunded in the event of a customer no longer requiring the use of Spelthorne Borough Council pitches

1.13 The Council does not send out reminders to customers at the end of block bookings. Customers are advised to note the finish date of their booking and rebook as necessary with as much advance notice as possible.

2. Obligations on the Hirer

2.1 Payment of invoices will be required by the due date shown on the invoice regardless of whether the facilities are used.

2.2 The hirer must vacate the facilities before the end of their allocated time slot. Morning time slots are from 9am to 12.30pm and afternoon time slots are from 12.30pm – 4pm. Kick off times must be arranged to ensure facilities can be vacated in time. Cars left in car parks after park closing time will be locked in.

2.3 The hirer must leave facilities in a clean and tidy state after use and is responsible for ensuring facilities are treated in a considerate manner. Litter should be placed in available bins. The washing of kit and football boots within the pavilion is strictly forbidden.

2.4 The hirer shall be responsible for the behaviour of all users during their booking slot. Users shall not act in a manner which causes injury, damage or distress to any property or person.

2.5 Hirers should ensure that cars are parked considerately and in allocated parking areas where possible. Under no circumstances should cars be parked on grass verges or on other grassed areas.

2.6 The Council will invoice the hirer for any damage caused as a result of irresponsible behaviour by the users during the booking period.

2.7 The hirer is responsible for providing adequate insurance cover for all users of the facility during the booking period. Evidence of appropriate public liability insurance cover to the value of £5,000,000 must be provided to the council before bookings can go ahead.

2.8 Hirers will be required to provide their own corner flags.

2.9 Hirers must not use pitches without booking in advance. Any pitch used without pre-booking can be retrospectively charged for.

2.10 Sub-letting of pitches is not permitted

2.11 Any breach of and/or failure to comply with these terms and conditions may result in the cancellation of all of the hirers current bookings of the council’s facilities without the provision of a refund or booking credit and/or the refusal to accept any future bookings from the hirer.

3. Obligations on the council

3.1 The Council will provide the hirer with one pitch per booking, changing facilities (where appropriate), goal posts and nets.

3.2 The Council reserves the right to cancel and/or move any booking to an alternative site without prior notice if, in their ultimate discretion, an officer of the council considers the facilities to be unsafe or unplayable. In the event of any such cancellation, or if an alternative site is unavailable or impractical to travel to, the Council will provide a booking credit for the full value of the booking. The Council will not accept any further costs or liability for any consequential losses suffered by the hirer due to any such cancellation.

4. Non-payment of invoices

4.1 Should the hirer not pay any invoice within 14 days of the due date on the invoice, the Council will not permit the hirer to make any future bookings until the Council has received payment in full. Any unpaid existing booking will also be cancelled.

4.2 Full payment will not be deemed to have been received by the Council until all funds have cleared.

4.3 If any invoice remains unpaid 28 days after the due date on the invoice, then the Council may take immediate legal action against the hirer to recover all monies due.

5. Limitations and Exclusions

5.1 The council does not accept liability for any loss suffered by the hirer as a result of any booking cancellation or unforeseen unavailability of the facilities.

5.2 The Council does not accept any responsibility for any injury, loss or damage however caused to any persons or in respect of any articles, goods or equipment brought onto the premises by the hirer.

6. V.A.T Exemption

6.1 Block bookings must comply with the following rules for a V.A.T exemption

6.1.1 The hirer must be a school, club, association or an organisation representing

affiliated clubs or constituent associations, such as a local League.

6.1.2 The block booking series must consist of 10 or more sessions.

6.1.3 Each session must be for the same sport or activity.

6.1.4 Each session must be in the same place, although a different pitch and/or a different number of pitches is acceptable.

6.1.5 The interval between each session must be at least 1 day but not more than 14 days. The duration of the sessions may be varied; however there is no exception for intervals greater than 14 days through the closure of the facility for any reason.

6.1.6 The series must be paid for as a whole and there must be written evidence of this. This must include evidence that payment is to be made in full whether or not the right to use the facility for any specific session is actually exercised.

6.1.7 The person to whom the facilities are let must have exclusive use of them during the sessions.

6.2 No refund can be provided for the cancellation of any sessions of such a block booking without invalidating the V.A.T exemption. Provision for a refund given by the provider in the event of the unforeseen non-availability of their facility would not affect this condition.