Hire our studios
We have two beautiful studios available to hire.
Studio hire
Our two beautiful studios are both available to hire outside our regular timetabled hours and are charged by the hour.
Sycamore is our larger studio, with a capacity of up to 50, and Silver Birch is the smaller. Both are suitable for a variety of uses such as workshops, events, meetings, rehearsals, performances, exhibitions and private functions, including celebrations and sit-down meals, all in gorgeous, atmospheric surroundings.
Multiroom hire
You may also, on occasions, be able to hire both studios together, add our reception area or even hire the whole building, when available. The more advance notice you can give us, the more we can work to accommodate your needs.
Treatment room hire
You may also hire one of our three calm and beautiful treatment rooms, inclusive of couches, with accommodation for either one or two massage couches together. For larger needs, we can accommodate three or four couches together in Sycamore. For more information please visit our therapist work page.
Sycamore
Silver Birch
Studio availability
Our two lovely studios are available to hire as follows:
- Mondays–Thursdays: some availability 9am–9pm, with a possible extension to 10pm, subject to our timetabled classes and other events.
- Fridays: daytimes 11am–6.30pm are offered. Evenings may be available from 7pm.
- Saturdays: afternoons 1pm–6.30pm are offered. Evenings may be available from 7pm.
- Sundays: generally not available but if you’ve a strong Sunday need (or would like a whole weekend booking) do please ask.
Please note that, for all hires, our doors close no later than 10pm on weekdays and 9.30pm on Saturdays.
Capacity
The actual capacity of each studio depends on its use. A yoga workshop with mats occupies a very different space to a seated public meeting, a board-style meeting, a dance rehearsal or a live music gig, for example. For guidance, at a small music gig or other similarly scaled performance in Sycamore, the majority of 50 people can comfortably be seated on chairs and floor cushions, with a few standing at the back, assuming a ‘typical’ performance space. A larger performance space may reduce the audience space. The best way to answer questions about use of space is to visit us, see the space and speak to us.
Studio hire prices – 2024
From spring 2024 we have simplified our hire pricing structure, resulting in cheaper overall cost to you.
Sycamore costs £25/hour to hire.
Silver Birch costs £20/hour to hire.
Either can be booked for durations between 1 and 4 hours, with 8 hours occasionally available (please ask).
To each booking we will add, free of charge, 15 minutes immediately before your start time, for you to get in and set up, and 15 minutes immediately following your end time, for you to pack up and get everything (and everyone) out.
Most clients pay only the hourly rate. For some, there may occasionally be additional charges (or a deposit) which are given below.
| Daytime sessions available | Ideal for | Sycamore | Silver Birch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-hour session | A 1-hour class, workshop, treatment etc | £25 | £20 |
| 2-hour session | A 90-minute or 2-hour workshop, treatment etc (or 2 x 1-hour) | £50 | £40 |
| 3-hour session | A 2½ or 3-hour workshop, performance, event etc (or maybe 2 x 90-minutes or 3 x 1-hour) | £75 | £60 |
| 4-hour (half-day) session | Up to a 4-hour class, workshop, performance, event etc (or maybe 4 x 1-hour or 2 x 2-hours etc) | £100 | £80 |
| 8-hour (full-day) session | Only occasionally available. Please ask, with plenty of notice | £200 | £160 |
| Get-in/get-out | See below | Free of charge | Free of charge |
| Friday & Saturday evenings from 7pm | |||
| All-evening session | Please ask | Please ask | |
Get-in/get-out time
As mentioned above, for each session booked we will automatically (now free of charge) add an additional 15 minutes immediately before the session, to enable you to get in and set up, and 15 minutes immediately following the session, for you to pack up and leave the space. This get-in/get-out time is strictly non-contact time and may not be used for anything other than your get-in and get-out.
Overruns
An overrun by you may prevent us from handing the room on time to another paying client or prevent staff from going home at the end of their shift.
So if the studio is not vacated within 15 minutes of the end of a session, we will automatically charge you a further hour at the full hourly rate plus a £10 administration fee. That’s a total overrun charge of £35 for Sycamore or £30 for Silver Birch, such charges to be applied automatically to your payment method without further notice. Part or all of such a charge may occasionally be waived by a Unity manager at their absolute discretion but only in exceptional circumstances.
For the avoidance of doubt, you are absolutely responsible for the prompt departure of your clients, students or guests: their slow departure, or the knock-on effect of such slow departure on your ability to vacate, will not be a valid reason for us to waive an overrun charge.
Out-of-hours charge
If your booking is outside our advertised reception hours and this is your first out-of-hours studio hire with us, you will need staffing on site, for which we will automatically add a supplementary charge of £15 per hour. This enables our staff to be on hand to help you get used to the building and routines and to open up and/or lock up the Centre. There is no such supplementary charge when reception staff would normally be on the premises.
Out-of-hours times are after 6.30pm Mondays,Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Fridays, after 4.30pm Thursdays and Saturdays, and any time on Sundays.
Deposit
This also applies only to out-of-hours hire. If this is your second time hiring one of our studios out of hours, and we are not adding an out-of-hours supplementary charge, we will instead charge a £50 deposit. This would be refundable unless we need to make deductions to cover our costs in rectifying or covering
- any damage
- any cleaning/clearing/tidying of rooms not left as they were found
- the use of any parts of the Centre not included in the hire agreement
Refunds where appropriate will be made approximately two weeks after the date of hire.
How to hire
We hope soon to bring our studio hire process online. Meanwhile, please use the link below. Bear in mind that, to accept your booking, we’ll ask you for:
- Your preferred hire dates and times – we’ll try hard to meet your first choice but please provide alternatives in case it isn’t available
- The name, nature and details of your class/workshop/event
- Proof of your appropriate insurance cover, including a minimum £10m public liability insurance
- Any catering/hospitality requirements
- Details of how people can book places and/or buy tickets
Once we’ve agreed the date(s) with you, we’ll send you an agreement, containing our terms and conditions, for your signature. We’ll then be ready to take payment for fees as above plus any supplementary charge and/or deposit where required (see above).
If you would like to visit the Unity Centre and studio(s) before or after you agree your booking, please make an appointment with our lovely reception team by phoning 01273 778400, emailing reception@being-in-unity.com or popping in. Please note that we may not be able to let you visit the studios on spec, if you pop in, as they may be in use.
If you have any other enquiries about studio hire, including availability, please email studio@being-in-unity.com.
Catering
If your event or function requires catering, please note that we have only a small food preparation area and no commercial cooking facilities on site, so catering would generally have to be prepared off-site and brought in.
Alcohol
If you are intending to serve alcohol at your event or function, please let us know before you confirm your booking, so that we can consider and discuss your plans and, for example, any licencing implications.
Publicity
We will help you publicise your event on our website, in our reception and on social media but the primary responsibility for publicity is yours. To help us do our bit, we’ll ask you for
- The name, nature and details of your event, as mentioned above, together with a short one-paragraph summary
- High quality publicity photos/images (preferably three)
- A handful of A5 or A6 flyers (not posters) to be displayed in our reception area (and replenishments if they go quickly)
The earlier and better you can give us these things, the more effective we can be. You will also be welcome to discuss with our social media team any videos or other materials that you can provide for social media use.
If you have any questions about publicity, please email comms@being-in-unity.com.
To find out more or to start the hire process, please get in touch