New Restrictions On 'Chuggers' In Hull City Centre
It follows complaints from people in the city.
New rules restricting when and where charity collecters or "chuggers" can operate in Hull city centre have been approved by councillors.
Following numerous complaints from members of the public and local businesses about the way face to face fundraisers collect money, the local authority has now announced new controls on charity collectors in the city.
The council's licencing committee met to step up controls on so-called "chuggers".
They've decided that they can only work on certain streets on certain days - they're now limited to Jameson Street, Whitefriargate and King Edward Street
Although the council recognises that charities rely on street donations, they say these new restrictions are necessary, so that people can enjoy the city centre without feeling pressure to donate.
Keith Fenner, Licensing Manager, said:
“Today, the Council’s Licensing Committee has agreed steps to control the operation of face to face charity collectors allowed on Hull streets. We have drawn up a Site Management Agreement which limits face to face collections to three streets – Jameson Street, Whitefriargate and King Edward Street – and only allows collectors to work on specific days.
Kevin Priestly, the Council’s City Centre Development Officer, has been working with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA), which is a charity led membership body set up to regulate all types of face to face fundraising, to develop the Site Management Agreement which incorporates a number of agreed measures, including a ban on any fundraising of this type on the week immediately before Christmas and a stipulation that fundraisers must be spread out rather than grouped together.
“We have worked with the PFRA to put these steps in place because we appreciate that, while charities rely on public donations to be able to perform valuable services, it is important that people are able to enjoy being in the city centre without feeling pressured into making donations and without being repeatedly stopped."