Any organisation or person wishing to hold a Street Collection for a Charitable Purpose must be in possession of a permit at the time the collection takes place. Unless agreed otherwise by the Council, only one collection may take place on any one day in any one location. Organisations can only carry out collections Monday to Saturday.
To apply for a Street Collection Permit you can download the application form.
In fairness to other organisations it is this Council’s practice not to allow one organisation to book more than three different dates within one year.
Sponsored walks do not need to be licenced but 'moving collections' such as carnival processions and events which involve collecting from the public along a route will require a permit. With certain exception such as Clacton Carnival, an application to hold this type of collection has to be considered by the Council's Licensing [General Purposes] Sub-Committee. This Sub-Committee does not sit at regular intervals and anyone wishing to apply for a 'moving collection' should contact the Licensing Section for advice prior to incurring any expense with regard to advertising the event or entering into any contracts in connection with the venture. It is recommended that as much notice as possible be given to the Council so that everything can be done to try and bring the application to the Sub-Committee well in advance of the date required.
After the collection has taken place, you will need to request a local paper to print details of the amount collected for the organisation/charity and send a clipping of the article to the Licensing Section. The local paper does not normally charge for this service. You will also need to complete a Return Form showing how the money was distributed and give a list of the money gathered by each collecting tin. Return forms will be sent to you when your permit is issued, but if you need further forms you can download them here, or you are able to fill them out online.
Applications are usually dealt with within 2 weeks of receipt of a full application. In very exceptional circumstances the deadline may be required to be extended, you will be notified of the new deadline and the reason for extending it.
Essex Police have produced guidance for the public when giving charitable donations either in the street or from doorstep collectors and which also includes advice as well for legitimate charities and charity collectors about how we can all work together to prevent fraud against the public and against legitimate charities.
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