Lordship Rec Eco-Hub Co-operative
www.lordshiphub.org.uk
Bookings – Guidelines and Information for Hire
Applicants must fill in the Hire Application Form
Section 1. The Facilities
Location Lordship Recreation Ground is situated between Lordship Lane and Downhills Park Road in
Tottenham, N17. The Eco-Hub is located in the southern part of the park adjacent to the main children’s
playground, the beautiful lake area and the historic Model Traffic Area for children’s cycling.
The building and its management The building is a new, environmentally-friendly, social and
environmental centre. A democratic, not-for-profit Co-operative has been set up to run the building by and for
park users and the local community, and is currently negotiating with Haringey Council for a full lease.
Availability The following rooms and spaces are available for hire, generally between the hours of 9am and
9pm, at the discretion of the Co-operative. The protocols and charges for this are set out in Sections 2 and 3,
below. More information about the building can be found in Section 4, and about the Co-operative in Section 5.
Hub Café
The Café will soon (summer holidays, 2014) be open to the public 7 days a week. It is 51.6 sq.m.
and seats up to 40 people inside – as well as 20 people in the exterior (but enclosed) terrace area. There could be
additional, appropriate ‘open’ activities scheduled there eg a board games area, a reading group, occasional live
music etc. This will be by negotiation with and at the discretion of the Co-operative. The café area as a whole,
and its kitchen, can be made available for exclusive (ie private) use in very exceptional circumstances, such as
an acceptable application to hire the entire building for an all-day event. When the Café is fully operational it
will be available to provide food for events elsewhere in the building, the options and charges for this service to
be decided nearer that date.
Community Room This room is 41.5 sq.m and fits up to 25 people and is regularly used for meetings and
activities of the park’s User Groups. It includes a sink and a child’s toilet and an exterior door / fire escape. It
currently houses various items and literature belonging to the park’s User Groups, plus children’s toys and play
equipment belonging to a Parent & Toddler Group – all of which should be respected and not be used without
explicit permission and hire charge. The room may be hired for other appropriate uses eg children’s parties,
music classes, advice sessions etc. There is a moveable partition between this room and the café area which may
be opened up on occasion when requested, but at the discretion of the Co-operative.
General Activities Room This is the largest space - 69.8 sq.m. - and fits up to 75 people. It will be available
for hire for all kinds of activities, classes and events. It includes a sink, a toilet and an exterior door / fire escape.
Office The Office will be the admin and coordination base for the Hub staff and volunteers, and the park’s
User Groups. It is 19 sq.m. It will act as a public reception point for the Hub and the park as a whole. It is not
otherwise available for hire.
Some further notes and information:
The curtilage: There may be opportunities for hiring the space around the building (eg for a stall, or a gazebo)
either as part of an event or activity, or for an event entirely exterior to the building. The Co-operative will be
responsible for those areas. The same protocols apply as for any usage of spaces in the building. However, as
this will be within the park itself, only those events that are appropriate and complementary to public usage of
the park will be considered. Such use will be entirely at the discretion of the Co-operative.
The other toilets: There are 3 public toilets (which will be open to the public whenever the building is open)
and a staff toilet in a side passage off the communal circulation corridor. Also off the corridor is an additional
disabled toilet (again always available when the Hub is open) which can also be used as a baby changing room.
Supplementary equipment: All bookings contain access to tables and stackable chairs, by negotiation. At the
moment there is no other equipment available for hire (eg flip charts, projector etc) so applicants will need to
bring all the relevant and appropriate equipment they need. Such equipment will need to be specified on the
application form and its usage is subject to approval of the Co-operative.
Vehicle access: The building is accessible by foot through nearby park entrances. There is restricted vehicle
access through the park (max speed 5mph) via Adams Rd or Freedom Rd entrances, by agreement and
arrangement. This is not for public attendance at events, but solely to assist with deliveries essential to the
organisation of activities. Exceptions may be able to be made regarding advance notice of specialist minibuses
for people with mobility difficulties. There are, however, no parking facilities around the building and all
vehicles must park off site. There is currently ample and unrestricted parking on the Broadwater Farm estate on
the east side of the park, on the Tower Gardens Estate opposite the main entrance, and also on Higham Road to
the south.
Evening lighting and park access: There are lamp columns with lighting to and from the building all night from Adams Road, Higham Rd, Lordship Lane, and Downhills Park Road entrances. The entrances are always
open to pedestrians.
Section 2. Hire and Usage Protocols
The Co-operative has developed the following protocols for use of the Building by third parties. In setting these
criteria for use, and also its hire charges [see Section 3] the Eco-hub has to balance its core purpose as a
community building for park users with the need to be financially sustainable.
General principles
General usage criteria
 We will actively support and promote Co-operative and park User Groups’ activities: [Free rate].
 We also support park-related community activities. [Community rate].
 We welcome other community activities and local social enterprises. [Standard rate].
 We welcome private, commercially-related or institutional events [Commercial/Institutional rate].
There will be an element of flexibility and negotiation in certain circumstances,
eg for deciding if applicable for the Free rate:
 Cost of the activity to users
 Whether the activity is being run for surplus or there is a grant for the purpose
 Whether activity is open to all
 Whether the hire is for a planning meeting for a future event to be held in the park
For the Community/Standard/Institutional rates the cost could also reflect, for example:
 The nature of the group hiring
 Their relationship to the park
 The usefulness of the activity to park users and the local community
 Regular bookings
 If a small, ‘start-up’ activity
Not appropriate:
 Purely commercial, Party political activities, or religious services
 Unlawful activities or any activities directly contradicting the Values, Aims or Objectives of the Cooperative.
 Repeat bookings from a previous hirer who has had their access suspended due to a previous booking
experience.
Further details
 All activities must be legal and compliant with equal opportunities principles
 Informal usage of the cafe area will be encouraged (eg board games, reading group etc) and may not
require the same level of formal booking as long as it is non-exclusive and does not monopolise the
space used for cafe customers generally
 No smoking in any part of the building (including the Café terrace), and no amplification above
acoustic level without permission
 Those using the building must use it responsibly and leave as found. Any damage/loss to be reported
and compensated for.
 The organisers of events and activities in the building are responsible for the behavior, welfare and
safety of their guests and visitors. Any injuries or significant incidents must be reported to the
Cooperative.
 The management reserve the right to refuse any booking. Reasons will be given in writing if requested.
Those refused have the right to appeal to the Co-operative.
 Applicants must fill in the Lordship Rec Eco-Hub Hire Application Form, which may contain further
or amended criteria of the Terms and Conditions of Hire.
Section 3. Hire charges
Initial costs per hour will be:
Park User Groups
General Activities Room
0
Community Room
0
Cafe
0
Community
30
20
50
Standard
75
40
100
Commercial/institutional
125
60
150
There may be variations due to regular bookings, or all-day bookings [currently set at a maximum charge
equivalent to 4 hrs usage], or other considerations eg if a Park User Group has a grant which includes hire
charges. See the above General Principles. A maximum of 30 mins will be allowed both for Set Up and Set
Down time (raised to an hour at each ‘end’ for bookings of 4 hours or more).
Regular bookings will be for a ‘term’ ie for a maximum 12 weeks. The Co-operative will generally offer the
regular customer first option on re-booking for the following term, unless there’s a good reason, and adequate
notice will be given of any priority booking ‘clashes’.
Deposit in lieu of damage or loss is £100 per booking. Toys hire in Community Room (when available) is £20.
As stated above, when the Café is fully operational (by the summer 2014) it will be available to provide food
for events in the building, the options and charges for this service to be decided nearer that date.
Review
These protocols and charges may be reviewed and amended as needed by the Co-operative.
As published July 5th 2014
Section 4. The building
Description Lordship Recreation Ground has recently undergone a £4.5m
restoration and upgrade. Usage of the Park is currently 630,000 visitors per
annum with a target of 1,250,000 per annum in the years following the full
completion of the works. As a part of this project the new Eco-Hub building
has been constructed. The Centre is a new-build, passivhaus building
designed to act as the hub building for the Park. All parts are wheelchair
accessible via the front entrance.
It has a total internal floor area of 316 sq. m. with the following facilities:
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Café
51.6 sq.m.
Kitchen
20.8 sq.m.
General Activities Room
69.8 sq.m.
Entrance, circulation and display space
40.7 sq.m.
Toilets
27.5 sq.m.
Office
19.0 sq.m.
Storage room
11.2 sq.m.
Community room
41.5 sq.m.
Plant (equipment) room
15.2 sq.m.
Entrance lobby
5.8 sq.m.
.
Additionally, there is an external terrace area providing additional outdoor café seating.
The building has been designed on the
‘Passivhaus’ design principles. The
building reached a silver standard which
demonstrates excellent efficiency standards
far above those set for contemporary builds
and therefore energy consumption for the
building will be very low compared with
similar buildings of more traditional
construction.
Construction The building structure is
timber apart from a small steel lintel to
provide support to one of the doors. The
walls are based upon stacked straw bales within a timber frame and rendered inside
and out. The roof is of sedum composition.
The building is very well insulated by the straw construction enabling the building
to keep a warm base temperature in the winter months and cooler in the summer
months.
Further information about the building and how it is being constructed can
be found via the following link:
www.architectsjournal.co.uk/footprint/footprint-blog/straw-baleconstruction-hits-haringey/8628452.article
Section 5. Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How did the Eco-Hub come to be built? It was a key part of the community-led regeneration of our
park. The Eco-Hub (or just ‘Hub’) is an environmentally ‘green’ community building built with Lottery funding
for the benefit of the park’s many user groups, and for park users generally. The community was involved in
the design and even helping with the construction.
Q2. What are the facilities in the Hub? When the Hub fully opens it
will include…
- a large General Activities Room (for hire)
- smaller Community Room (for park user group meetings, and also
for public hire)
- a community Office (for Hub staff and the park’s many active
User Groups)
- a daily Café
- Public Toilets
Q3. What’s happening at the moment? It is partly open. The Friends of Lordship Rec (the organisation for
all local park users) are running the Community Room at the back of the building for a range of park meetings,
and the Parent & Toddler Group has open sessions there every Tues/Thurs 11am-2pm. The park’s User Groups
have also organised some great events using the whole place. Rooms are available for hire on a limited basis.
Q4. Why has the building not yet opened up fully? Over the last year the Council has been trying hard to
find someone to run the building in partnership with the Friends. Last summer an Eco-Hub Co-operative was set
up by the Friends, backed by the park’s User Groups. We have a detailed Business Plan and are now negotiating
over the terms of the lease. The Council are keen for us to take full control of the building as soon as possible.
Q5. What activities could go on in the Hub, can I book a room? The Café will be open 7 days a week, and
there could be extra activities there eg a board games area, a reading group, occasional live music etc.
The Office will be a hive of activity as the base for the Hub staff and volunteers, and the park’s User Groups. It
will act as a public reception point. The Community Room fits up to 25 people and is used for meetings and
activities, and can be hired for children’s parties, music classes, advice sessions etc. The General Activities
Room fits up to 75 people. It is available for hire for all kinds of activities, kids parties, classes and events.
There is a scale of hire charges – Park User groups (free), General/Community groups rate, Standard rate,
Commercial/Corporate rate. But we’re not yet fully open to general bookings, but are taking ‘pilot’ ones up until
the lease is finalized and full-time staff are in place. Contact us if you want to hire the facilities!
Q6. When will the Café be open? The negotiations with the Council are underway, but there are always
very complicated legal matters to be discussed regarding the terms of any lease. When we get an assurance that
a lease will be forthcoming, we can start to complete the works on the Hub (fittings, furniture, decoration,
equipment etc). We have started to hire staff in preparation, and plan to open the café with a skeleton service
(and some ‘pop-up’ cafes) by the end of July.
Q7. How will the Hub be run? The Co-operative will run the building. Any
individual or group who wish to actively support us can become a member and
attend general meetings. The plan is for the Co-op to eventually hire 4 paid
staff and a number of unpaid, voluntary staff. There will also be a wide range of
opportunities for volunteering. We will have to ensure that the building
generates enough money to pay the paid staff’s wages which will be £120,000
per year, plus all the other running costs.
Q8. How can I help make the place a success? Become a Co-operative member. See our website for more
details. Fill in the Supporters Form if you have time, skills, money or resources to contribute. Hire the rooms.