22/09/10
PFRA and Norwich City Council have this week jointly introduced new rules for fundraisers working in Norwich through a negotiating process that PFRA hopes can become a model for future discussions with other councils.
The new site management agreement (SMA) for Norwich replaces the historic agreement that had been in operation since 2001. Full details of the SMA can be found in the relevant PFRA press release.
Discussions began with Norwich last year after street fundraising was featured in the local media.
Nick Henry, PFRA’s head of standards, says: “The process of negotiating this new agreement went extremely smoothly and we enjoyed an excellent working relationship with council officials in Norwich throughout the process. I hope that all our future negotiations with councils can follow the example set by Norwich.
“Now that the new SMA is in place, charities will continue to be able to benefit from the longstanding generosity of the people of Norwich.”
PFRA now has 39 direct formal site management agreements with local authorities or BIDS (Business Improvement Districts) in England & Wales, of which 23 follow the modern template of the type now in use in Norwich. We also have looser arrangements, such as diary reporting, with up to 40 further councils in England & Wales, and nine across Scotland.
Toby Ganley, PFRA’s head of policy, says: “Many of our SMAs were agreed some time back, sometimes as much as eight or nine years ago. But a lot can change in a town centre in that time, so as well as constantly negotiating new SMAs with councils we’ve not worked with before, we are also keen to ensure our ‘historic’ agreements are reviewed regularly and kept as up to date and relevant as possible.”
Any council licensing officer or town centre manager who wishes to discuss partnership management of fundraisers accessing their area should email or call Toby Ganley or click the ‘Need an SMA?’ link.
In the past couple of weeks, PFRA has begun discussions with Wolverhampton, Sheffield and Coventry councils as a direct result of being contacted about an SMA through the website.
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