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Poppy collectors win permission to fundraise across Birmingham 2

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 16 Sep 2011

Poppy collectors will be allowed to fundraise across Birmingham in the lead-up to Remembrance Day after two charities gave up their slots for the Royal British Legion.

Birmingham City Council had come under fire for refusing street collections permission to the Royal British Legion for the New Street and High Street regions in the centre of the city for 11 and 12 November because the dates had been allocated to other charities. The dates are key to the Poppy Appeal as the 11th is Armistice Day and Remembrance Day this year is on 13 November.

But the council has now been able to reverse its decision after Shelter and the Anthony Nolan Trust gave up their allocated collection days and asked they be given to the Legion. Oxfam had earlier given up its allocated slot on 5 November to enable the veterans charity to fundraise on that day.

A council spokesperson said, “Between 29 October and 13 November the Royal British Legion has permission to make charitable collections across the whole, or the major part, of Birmingham everyday.” The charity already had been granted permission to fundraise in other major centres of the city for these key dates.

The council also pointed out that the Royal British Legion had missed its deadline to apply for street collection dates by six months. Charities are legally required to submit applications for council permission for a street collection by 1 November for the coming year, but the RBL did not get in touch with Birmingham City Council about collection dates until this May, by which time some of their sought-after dates had been given to other charities. The council’s rules limit the number of charities running street collections in any given area at a time to one.

“To withdraw permission for these pre-agreed charities to collect in these locations at this stage would be wholly unfair to those organisations,” the council’s statement read.

A spokeswoman for the Royal British Legion said, “We’re absolutely delighted that we’ve been able to reach a resolution.”

The Anthony Nolan Trust said that a supporter group had applied for permission to fundraise and was allocated 12 November without realising this would prohibit other charities from doing so on the same day.

“We will look to secure alternative dates to fundraise in Birmingham and ask for the continued support from the people of the city,” the charity said in a statement. 

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