Street collections
Licence summary
To collect money or sell articles for the benefit of charitable or other purposes in England or Wales, you require a street collection licence from your local council under the provisions of the Charities Act 1992.
Will tacit consent apply?
Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from the local authority by the end of the target completion period.
You can make an application online or download an application form to complete.
Make an application
Before you apply
Please read our policy on charitable collections and the street collection regulations before submitting a new or subsequent application.
Apply online
Download and complete an application form
You will need to provide us with:
- a completed application form
- details of charity/fund for which the collection is made
- a copy of the latest audited accounts for the charity on whose behalf you are collecting
- a written document (letter or email) from the charity showing that you are authorised to collect on their behalf
Email your application to [email protected].
Allocation of street collection days
We operate a diary booking system on a first-come, first-served basis for the allocation of street collection date(s) to ensure that all charities have equal access to their preferred collection dates.
We will normally permit a maximum of one collection in the town centre per day, although collection applications for other areas in the borough away from the town centre will be considered at the council's discretion.
Christmas street collections
Due to high demand we have additional arrangements for the allocation of street collections during the Christmas period from 15 November to 31 December.
We will not accept applications for Christmas collections until the first week of September each year.
To permit as many Christmas collections as possible, we will allocate applicants either a morning slot or an afternoon/evening slot.
If necessary, officers will submit a report in November to the council’s licensing committee with proposed allocations for Christmas collections. The committee may approve the proposed allocation of dates or make any amendments it considers necessary. You will be notified of the committee’s decision within 5 working days and issued with a collection permit if your application is successful.
Where your preferred date(s) cannot be granted, alternative dates, times and/or locations may be suggested.
Collection applications for other areas in the borough over December, away from the town centre, will be considered on merits and at our discretion.
Cheltenham Festival collections
Due to high demand we have additional arrangements for the Cheltenham Festival "Gold Cup" race week in March.
We will not accept applications for race week collections until the first week of October each year.
Where there is a conflict of dates, times or locations, officers may submit a report to the council’s licensing committee with proposed allocations for race week collectons. You will be notified of the committee’s decision within 5 working days and issued with a collection permit if your application is successful.
Where your preferred date(s) cannot be granted, alternative dates, time and/or locations may be suggested.
Collection applications for other areas in the borough over race week, away from the town centre, will be considered at our discretion.
Costs
There is no charge for a registered charity.
Redress procedure
Please contact us in the first instance.
Tacit consent
Tacit consent applies to this application. This means that you can assume the authorisation has been granted (subject to standard conditions that might apply) if you have not received a decision notice from us within 7 calendar days. The timeframe above takes into consideration the need for a Licensing Committee hearing. Where a decision is delegated to licensing officers, the timeframe for determining an application is likely to be less.
The timeframe above starts on receipt of this acknowledgement.