Terms of Service
Last updated: 15 March 2025 | Effective immediately
1. Introduction & Acceptance
Welcome to Village Community Hubs. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website (villagecommunityhubs.com), services, resources, tools, and community platform (collectively, the "Services").
By accessing or using our Services—whether you're a village hall trustee, community centre volunteer, parish council member, or simply browsing—you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part, please discontinue use immediately.
We serve over 1,247 community spaces across rural England and Wales. Our platform connects, supports, and resources these vital social infrastructures—from funding advice to governance templates.
These Terms incorporate by reference our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Together, they form the complete agreement between you and Village Community Hubs.
2. Definitions & Interpretation
Let's clarify what we mean when we say:
- "We," "Us," "Our": Village Community Hubs, the data controller (Company No. 14920100), operating from St Alban The Martyr Church, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, England, SM1 2EZ.
- "You," "User": Any individual or entity accessing our Services—including trustees, volunteers, community members, researchers, or local government officers.
- "Content": Text, images, videos, documents, templates, data, comments, and any other material posted on or through our Services.
- "Community Space": Village halls, community centres, parish pubs, church halls, and other community-owned buildings listed or discussed on our platform.
- "Member Account": Registered access for trustees and volunteers managing community space profiles.
Section headings are for convenience only and don't affect interpretation. The singular includes the plural (and vice versa). References to statutes include amendments and replacements.
3. Account Registration & Security
Certain Services—like updating your community space profile or accessing premium resources—require registration. Here's what you need to know:
Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years old and have the authority to represent your community organisation (where applicable). We verify approximately 98.3% of trustee registrations against public charity records.
Accuracy: Provide complete, accurate information during registration. Don't impersonate others or create accounts for unauthorised purposes.
Security: You're responsible for maintaining confidentiality of your login credentials. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use. We implement reasonable security measures—but no system is 100% secure (as you know from managing hall bookings!).
Multiple Spaces: Trustees overseeing multiple community spaces may request linked accounts. Contact our support team for arrangement.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or pose risks to our community.
4. User Content & Community Guidelines
Our platform thrives on shared experiences, case studies, and resources. When you contribute Content:
You Retain Ownership
You keep rights to your original Content. By posting, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute it through our Services.
You're Responsible
Ensure your Content is accurate, lawful, and doesn't infringe others' rights. Don't share sensitive personal data about others without consent.
Community Guidelines: Our platform supports rural community spaces—not commercial promotion or political campaigning. Content should:
- Share genuine experiences (successes and challenges)
- Respect diverse perspectives within the sector
- Avoid defamatory, harassing, or discriminatory material
- Not include third-party copyrighted material without permission
- Be relevant to community space management and rural vitality
We may moderate, edit, or remove Content that violates these guidelines. Repeat offenders risk account suspension.
5. Intellectual Property Rights
Between our template documents, case studies, and original research—there's significant intellectual property here. Let's clarify ownership:
Our Materials: All content we create—website design, text, graphics, logos, software, documentation, templates (unless marked as user-contributed)—is owned by or licensed to Village Community Hubs. It's protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.
Limited License: We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use our Services for their intended purpose. This doesn't include:
- Reselling or commercially exploiting our resources without permission
- Modifying, reverse-engineering, or creating derivative works
- Using our name, logo, or branding without express written consent
- Systematically scraping or downloading content
Template Documents: Our governance templates, funding applications, and policy documents are provided "as is" for adaptation to your specific context. They don't constitute legal advice—always consult appropriate professionals.
Third-Party Content: We sometimes feature resources from partners (like funding bodies or architectural firms). Those remain their property, subject to their terms.
6. Prohibited Activities
To maintain a safe, constructive environment for all rural community stakeholders, you agree not to:
Misuse Access
Attempt to gain unauthorised access to systems, accounts, or data. No brute-force attacks, scraping, or circumventing security measures.
Misrepresent
Falsely claim affiliation with community spaces or organisations. Don't post misleading information about funding, capacities, or facilities.
Violate Laws
Use our Services for unlawful purposes—including fraud, harassment, discrimination, or violating data protection regulations (GDPR, etc.).
Commercial Restrictions: While we understand community spaces need income, our platform isn't for:
- Aggressive promotion of commercial services to trustees
- Unauthorised advertising or sponsorship solicitation
- Bulk messaging users for commercial purposes
- Listing commercial venues disguised as community spaces
Violations may result in immediate termination of access and, where appropriate, reporting to authorities.
7. Data Protection & Privacy
We take data protection seriously—as community spaces should with their own user data. Our practices align with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
Controller Details: Village Community Hubs (Company No. 14920100) is the data controller. Contact: Data Protection Officer, St Alban The Martyr Church, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, England, SM1 2EZ or contact@villagecommunityhubs.com.
What We Collect: Depending on your interaction, this may include name, contact details, community role, organisation information, and usage data. We don't collect special category data unless voluntarily provided (e.g., accessibility requirements for event planning).
Legal Bases: We process data based on: (1) contract performance (providing requested Services), (2) legitimate interests (platform improvement, security), (3) consent (where clearly obtained), or (4) legal obligation.
Your Rights: You have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, and object to processing of your personal data. You may also data portability and withdrawal of consent. Contact us to exercise these rights.
Data Sharing: We may share data with:
- Service providers (hosting, email, analytics) under strict agreements
- Other community space trustees (for verified space profiles)
- Authorities when legally required
- Research partners (anonymised and aggregated only)
Complete details in our Privacy Policy.
8. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability
Let's be clear about what we provide—and what we don't.
Service "As Is": We provide Services on an "as available" basis. While we strive for accuracy and reliability, we don't guarantee uninterrupted, error-free operation. Scheduled maintenance occurs approximately once quarterly.
Not Professional Advice: Our resources—including template documents, funding guidance, and case studies—are informational only. They don't constitute legal, financial, architectural, or health and safety advice. Always consult appropriate professionals for your specific circumstances.
Community Space Listings: We verify details where possible, but ultimately rely on trustees to maintain accurate information about their spaces. We're not liable for discrepancies in capacity, facilities, or availability.
Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by law, Village Community Hubs shall not be liable for:
- Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
- Loss of data, profits, or business opportunities
- Damages exceeding £500 or the amount paid to us in the past 12 months (whichever is less)
- Third-party conduct or content
This doesn't exclude liability for death, personal injury, fraud, or other liabilities that cannot be limited by law.
9. Indemnification
If your use of our Services causes issues, you agree to protect us from the consequences.
Specifically, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Village Community Hubs, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:
Your Content
Claims that your Content infringes intellectual property rights, violates privacy, or is defamatory.
Your Conduct
Your violation of these Terms, applicable laws, or third-party rights through use of our Services.
Your Account
Unauthorised use of your account (unless due to our security negligence).
We'll notify you of any such claim and cooperate in your defense at your expense. You won't settle any claim without our prior written consent.
10. Termination & Suspension
Access isn't forever guaranteed—here's when it might end.
By You: You may stop using our Services anytime. Deletion of your account removes your profile but may not immediately remove all Content (e.g., comments on case studies).
By Us: We may suspend or terminate your access if:
- You materially breach these Terms
- Required by law or competent authority
- You pose security risks or engage in fraudulent activity
- You've been inactive for over 24 months
- We discontinue relevant Services (with 30 days' notice where possible)
Effect: Termination ends your right to use Services. Provisions that should survive (like indemnification, limitations of liability, intellectual property) will continue.
We aim to provide warning for non-critical violations—community spaces thrive on communication, after all.
11. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by English law. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of English courts.
Informal Resolution: We encourage attempting to resolve disputes informally first. Contact us at contact@villagecommunityhubs.com with "Dispute Resolution" in the subject line.
Mediation: If informal resolution fails within 30 days, either party may propose mediation through a recognised UK mediation service. Costs shared equally.
Time Limit: Any claim must be brought within one year of the event giving rise to the claim.
EU Consumers: If you're a consumer in the European Union, you benefit from mandatory consumer protection provisions of your country of residence.
Force Majeure: We're not liable for delays or failures due to circumstances beyond reasonable control—including pandemics, extreme weather affecting rural infrastructure, or utility failures.
12. Changes to Terms
We may update these Terms periodically. Why? Legal requirements change, services evolve, and community needs shift.
Notification: We'll notify registered users of material changes via email at least 30 days before they take effect. For others, we'll post notice on our website.
Continued Use: Using our Services after changes become effective means you accept the new Terms. If you disagree, discontinue use before they take effect.
Archive: We maintain previous versions for reference. Contact us if you need a specific historical version.
Substantial Changes: For particularly significant changes affecting core functionality, we may provide longer notice periods or grandfather existing users for limited periods.
13. Miscellaneous Provisions
The fine print that keeps everything working:
Entire Agreement
These Terms (with Privacy and Cookie Policies) constitute the complete agreement regarding our Services, superseding prior communications.
Severability
If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder continues in full force. We'll replace invalid provisions with valid ones achieving similar purposes.
Assignment
We may transfer our rights under these Terms to successors (like if we merge with another community support organisation). You may not transfer your rights without our written consent.
Waiver
Our failure to enforce any provision doesn't waive our right to enforce it later. Waivers must be in writing and signed by us.
Third-Party Rights: Only you and Village Community Hubs have rights under these Terms. No third party may enforce any provision.
Notices: Official notices to us must be sent to St Alban The Martyr Church, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, England, SM1 2EZ or contact@villagecommunityhubs.com. We'll send notices to your registered email or website posting.
14. Contact Information
Questions about these Terms? Need clarification for your community space?
Postal address for legal notices:
Village Community Hubs
St Alban The Martyr Church
Gander Green Lane
Sutton, England
SM1 2EZ
Founded 2015 | Supporting rural community spaces across England and Wales