How to get permission to play airsoft in derelict/unused buildings?

[ImTriggerHappy]

I know what a risk assessment is and anything in the play area is made safe. The sort of things that you agree to are that if you cross a barrier into an area that is not deemed safe then you are at putting yourself in harms way and that none of the electricals are used that sort of crap. We dont play anywhere that is deemed unsafe.

As I said I am not 100% percent on all the legalities as I didnt organise it. What I do know is that it is possible to be done.

If someone did get injured and try and sue then maybe they could nothing is bulletproof, but you would still have to prove it was the site owners fault after you signed a waiver removing them from responsibility.

As I said earlier as well it did affect the building insurance in case of damage and that had to be covered, not sure who forked out for it though.

[kerby91]

Whilst I say business, we aren't looking to make any money out of it. Any profit would directly back into the site for improvements etc

[K@rl]

Understood but it is there fault for allowing you access. It would be for them to prove your injury was as a result of your negligence as u said if you go into a marked restricted access area. Or that the owner had taken every possible step to stop you hurting yourself even then it won't help them. Health and safety would shit the site faster Jan you could dial there number. There's always a way to sue someone that's why these slip trip and fall scum lawyers get so meny successful claims.

Side not, when they take on a no win no fee claim they take out insurance for there cost incase they lose. So for them it's win win.

[K@rl]

Whilst I say business, we aren't looking to make any money out of it. Any profit would directly back into the site for improvements etc

First thing to do is find a site that will let you. From there you will find it takes logical steps.

How meny of you are there that are looking to start up? Do any of you have any business exp?

[ImTriggerHappy]

Agreed if you really wanted to sue then maybe you could but when I first played I was shown around and all the known problem areas were barriered off. Everybody has signed off that they are familiar with the restrictions of the site and the no go areas.

Its the same as doing a job that has an element of risk all the restrictions and precautions in the world dont entirely prevent accidents but the jobs still allowed to be done and the person doing it does it knowing the risks.

There is a certain element of gentlemans handshake involved as well obviously with any venture like this.

At the end of the day its a group of people meeting up and having a laugh not an organised event.

If you put a football match on then you need medics and officials and all the health and safety but you dont need that when you go for a kick around in the park.

There are still lots of ways round a lot of health and safety things at the moment but it does get harder all the time so I am sure that at some point it will be impossible to do this sort of thing but at the moment loopholes obviously still exist.

[K@rl]

Agreed. We (different generations of my family) have been running a roofing contractors for over 55 years and have seen the rules change a lot. Even if we take every possible safety measure we are still liable although reduced if we do everything reasonably possible to manage risk.

[NickM]

Or ........ and this might be a wild idea, actually approach a regular site owner with a venue idea. Gunman, did or possibly still are running an incentive to find new sites. If you suggest a site that they take up there was some kind of reward, £1000 pops into my head but I am probably wrong.

 

UCAP have just taken on a lease for an ex prison near Bristol. They already have the knowhow, kit, experience and insurance contacts to get it up and running. You have no need to get involved other than enjoy the site.

 

If you are after running it as a business for yourself I simply wish you good luck!

[Hibernator]

Or ........ and this might be a wild idea, actually approach a regular site owner with a venue idea. Gunman, did or possibly still are running an incentive to find new sites. If you suggest a site that they take up there was some kind of reward, £1000 pops into my head but I am probably wrong.

 

UCAP have just taken on a lease for an ex prison near Bristol. They already have the knowhow, kit, experience and insurance contacts to get it up and running. You have no need to get involved other than enjoy the site.

 

If you are after running it as a business for yourself I simply wish you good luck!

 

Yeah - pretty sure First and Only do a similar thing, and you get to play there free for the life of the site or something. Might be worth checking!

[GunmanAirsoft]

We are always looking for new sites to run games at - if we start running regular monthly games at a new site which you have hooked us up with we do offer a £1000 finder's reward.

 

Get in touch with [email protected] if you think you have somewhere suitable and we'll do the rest.

 

If we are only able to use it a few times for special events I'm sure we can still work out some sort of reward...

[K@rl]

We are always looking for new sites to run games at - if we start running regular monthly games at a new site which you have hooked us up with we do offer a £1000 finder's reward.

 

Get in touch with [email protected] if you think you have somewhere suitable and we'll do the rest.

 

If we are only able to use it a few times for special events I'm sure we can still work out some sort of reward...

What area? And what kind of site? Cqb/woodland?

[Jambo88]

We are always looking for new sites to run games at - if we start running regular monthly games at a new site which you have hooked us up with we do offer a £1000 finder's reward.

 

Get in touch with [email protected] if you think you have somewhere suitable and we'll do the rest.

 

If we are only able to use it a few times for special events I'm sure we can still work out some sort of reward...

Will you do a site anywhere in the UK?

 

 

Check out nairns linoleum Kirkcaldy. It would be amazing.

 

 

Can I get my £1000 now

[GunmanAirsoft]

We will consider sites anywhere in the country, but are most likely to run regular events in the south of the contry as our office is based in Cambridgeshire.

 

We are interested in any type of site - CQB is preferred, but we are also looking for woodland.

 

Can I get my £1000 now

 

Cheque's in the post bud

[djben9]

We will consider sites anywhere in the country, but are most likely to run regular events in the south of the contry as our office is based in Cambridgeshire.

 

We are interested in any type of site - CQB is preferred, but we are also looking for woodland.

 

 

Cheque's in the post bud

Waterbeach Barracks....any chance you could get something there???!

[Jambo88]

We need airsoft on the beach.

[proffrink]

Have you tried running on sand for an extended period?

[Jambo88]

Have you tried running on sand for an extended period?

Yes its a brilliant workout.

[Airsoftn1nja]

Found it fun reading all your replies to each other I just want to pop in and say I actually ran an Airsoft site I started up with some friends 

 

The way you would need to do this is to treat it as a business and just launch it you wouldn't need to worry about paying loads of tax if you don't make profit so if you could show that all the money collected on a "gameday" was used to cover your businesses bills and non was taken for profit you would be fine

 

In terms of insurances its alot easier to find a woodland and get it risk assessed and maintained than it is with an indoor site or a site with more buildings, you would also need to write out waivers nullifying yourself from any blame of injury and explain that a safety brief was given at the start of the day to highlight these risks.

 

you can insure yourself under outdoor activities/recreational or something kind of sports insurance 

 

With pyros id recommend going for only impact grenades and no actual pyrotechnics that make a flame.

 

I understand this post is very old but id be interested to hear back from you to see if you did ever find a way to make this work 

 

 

 

[Rogerborg]

10 hours ago, Airsoftn1nja said:

you would also need to write out waivers nullifying yourself from any blame of injury

 

Section 65 of the Consumer Right Act 2015,.

 

Quote

 

(1) A trader cannot by a term of a consumer contract or by a consumer notice exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence.

(2) Where a term of a consumer contract, or a consumer notice, purports to exclude or restrict a trader's liability for negligence, a person is not to be taken to have voluntarily accepted any risk merely because the person agreed to or knew about the term or notice.

 

 

[LMKipper]

I always assumed the bit where you sign away your rights was rubbish. Same as when you sign 'I am fit and able to participate in XYZ' - any lawyer would shred it in seconds.

[Jamsandwich]

The Act does specify "from negligence" though.

 

I assume the waivers are mainly there to protect the site from people tripping over twigs and hurting their ankles rather than harm caused by dangerous onsite practices / dodgy crumbling walls etc.  So they do have a purpose for protecting the site management while limiting those protections to ensure customer safety isn't ignored.

[Rogerborg]

5 hours ago, Jamsandwich said:

The Act does specify "from negligence" though.

 

Somewhat redundantly. If there's no negligence, there's little prospect of a claim succeeding.

 

 

5 hours ago, Jamsandwich said:

I assume the waivers are mainly there to protect the site from people tripping over twigs and hurting their ankles

 

The waiver doesn't do that, the informed acceptance of specific unavoidable risks does.  These are two different things.  The usual waffle about unconditionally absolving the site of any liability is just wasted words.  I'd rather they used that space be more specific about risks, and who is responsible for mitigating them, phrased as "We will" and "You will".  Passive voice introduces ambiguity.

 

For example: Before entering the safe zone, you will remove the magazine from all your guns including pistols, fire shots into the ground until they are clear, and present them for inspection if asked.

 

If this sounds unnecessarily pedantic, it's because it doesn't matter, until it really matters, and suddenly what's plain as a pikestaff to the plaintiff's lawyer is utter balderdash to the defendant's.

 

For an example of getting it wrong, one of my locals says "If you show up in trainers or unacceptable footwear, you will not be permitted to play."

 

Daft thing to say, as it creates a duty of care on the site that didn't previously exist. 🤦‍♂️

[Tommikka]

9 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

 

 

If this sounds unnecessarily pedantic, it's because it doesn't matter, until it really matters, and suddenly what's plain as a pikestaff to the plaintiff's lawyer is utter balderdash to the defendant's.

 

🤦‍♂️

Stating the obvious as you already know this, but just reinforcing your statement …..

 

 

There’s no such thing as pedantic on a form once it arrives in court.  It’s either stated on the form or it isn’t

14 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

 

 

For example: Before entering the safe zone, you will remove the magazine from all your guns including pistols, fire shots into the ground until they are clear, and present them for inspection if asked.

 

🤦‍♂️

Side remark …. The first time we ran an Airsoft game as players were being herded back to the safe zone I was sat on a table at the entrance/exit waiting to head out and reset / lay out props for the next objective.  The Airsoft marshals were calling out the instructions to make safe before entering the safe zone etc

 

So players were doing the right thing, magazine out, fire off anything left in the chamber etc

 

But then seeing me sat there as the first handful pass me holding up for inspection etc 

I particularly liked those who after discharging and clearing in front of an Airsoft marshall then paused to queue up to one by one give the paintball events organiser a clear confirmation that they have a safe RIF

[Dogsbody100]

I looked at doing this myself some time ago. There was a Debenhams in a local shopping mall that had closed and was almost perfect for a CQB site.

 

After some research it seems that it would have ended up as a full time job and as already mentioned would also have been requiring a complete health and safety assessment amongst many other things.

 

Bottom line was that unless I was willing to devote all my spare time, cash and attention it would have mutated into a massive failure at best and a raging court case at worst.

 

That said I really would love to do it one day but as things stand its not feasible.

 

After all that I can't honestly see how a temporary site could be set up and made workable in today's litigation heavy world.

 

I do wish the OP best of luck all the same. 

 

Edited June 11 by Dogsbody100

[ruskitseller]

Probably easier to do it using woodland. You can use the land registry and pay £3 to find out who owns land and approach the owner. I am sure there are other steps regarding insurance, but I have played private events before where there is no insurance and you sign a self disclaimer. Not sure of the legality of that nowadays and that was over 6 years ago. 

 

Cheers 

[Rogerborg]

18 hours ago, ruskitseller said:

I have played private events before where there is no insurance and you sign a self disclaimer. Not sure of the legality of that nowadays and that was over 6 years ago. 

 

Fine as long as it's on properly private land, with the owner's express permission, and nothing goes wrong.  Even if it does, if Alice shoots out Bob's eye though negligence, then there's a direct claim between those parties, and it's Alice's problem if she has no liability cover in place.

 

However, random members of the public can wander on, and someone who's lost the ability to earn money is going to go after the deepest pockets they can find, whether it's Alice's, whoever formed the contract with the landowner, or the landowner themselves.

 

Note that whether you're getting paid or not isn't relevant. Vowles vs Evans and the Welsh Rugby Union established that even an unpaid volunteer referee can be liable if they fail in their duty of care.