Cheshire West and Chester Council has launched a consultation on a proposed charitable street collection policy.

Anyone wishing to undertake a public cash collection or sell articles for a charitable purpose in a street (public place) must, by law, hold a Street Collection Permit.

Additionally, councils can set requirements and restrictions on issues such as frequency and location.

The council has now approved a draft policy which aims to control street collection activities.

It seeks to ensure that public places in Cheshire West and Chester are 'free from potential nuisance' caused by frequent or intrusive charitable street collection activity.

It will also detail the conditions and regulations under which permits are granted and provide applicants with guidance on how they should conduct a charitable street collection.

There are no charges for a permit.

The policy does not cover collections or sale of articles for charitable purposes in non-public places, the selling of articles in the ordinary course of trade, or the collection of promised donations in the future (direct debit) but where no payment takes place at the time of the initial contact.

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Cllr Stuart Bingham said: "There is no requirement for councils to have a policy on charitable street collections, but a new policy will aid the application process by providing clear information and guidance to applicants as well as setting out a framework for the fair allocation of street collection permits.

"Everyone is welcome to give their views as part of our consultation on the proposed Policy."

The consultation will take place from Tuesday 4 March 2025 to Tuesday 13 May 2025.

Full details of the consultation, a copy of the draft policy and information on how to take part can be seen here.

All feedback will be reviewed and a report will be published and considered by the Licensing Committee on 10 June 2025.

Subject to the Licensing Committee's approval, a final version of the Policy will then be made available on the Council's website.

You can find the consultation here.