17/02/11
Manchester will become the latest town to join the self-regulatory regime for street fundraising when a new site management agreement (SMA) with the PFRA comes into effect later this month (Monday 28 February).
The SMA – with Manchester’s city centre management firm Cityco and approved by the city council – will allow five fundraisers to work in four separate sites in the city centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9am and 6pm.
The sites are:
Zone 1 - The bottom of Market Street under the canopy near Boots
Zone 2 - The Oldham Street end of Piccadilly Gardens near the statue
Zone 3 - Outside the main entrance to the Manchester Arndale and next to the Manchester Wheel
Zone 4 - St Ann’s Square outside the Royal Exchange Theatre.
Councillor Pat Karney, Manchester City Council’s city centre spokesperson, said: “We believe we have achieved a breakthrough agreement that is acceptable to all parties concerned. We know there was a lot of debate about this issue last year and we have worked hard to address it.
“It’s important that Manchester city centre remains a pleasant place to work, live and visit but we also recognise charities have the legal right to fundraise on our streets. Working closely with the PFRA and regulating the practice seems the sensible way forward.”
The council has also set up an email address for city centre users to report fundraisers who appear to infringe the terms of the agreement. As with all PFRA’s site management agreements (SMAs) the council will be able to report any such infringement to the PFRA, which we will then put right.
Any local authority wanting to discuss a site management agreement for their area should contact PFRA’s head of policy Toby Ganley on 020 7401 8452, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or click on the ‘Need and SMA?’ button.
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