Croydon in South London has become the 100th town in the UK to sign a regulatory agreement with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association on restrictions to face-to-face fundraising.

Under the new rules of the agreement, five face-to-face fundraisers will be allowed to operate per day on the streets of Central Croydon and their area of operations will be limited to two zones of the North End. Street fundraising will also be limited to three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday between 7am and 9pm.

Matthew Sims, chief executive of Croydon Business Improvement District, told Civil Society News that while people in the local area have been complaining about the amount of street fundraisers recently, this agreement was in no way a ban on the charity sector.  

“The town centre (of Croydon) in the past has been flooded by people – not just fundraisers – that perhaps have not been managed in an appropriate way,” he said.

"What this agreement does, from our point of view, helps to improve the customer journey."

“However, this is in no way a ban on fundraisers. Croydon is working with the charity sector here. It is not a closed door at all.”

Street fundraising is regulated by the PFRA who confirmed that this most recent regulatory agreement with Croydon was the 100th such agreement in the United Kingdom.

PFRA chief executive Peter Hills-Jones said: "These agreements are an effective and balanced way of regulating fundraising on the high street, allowing charities to raise money for good causes, but at the same time protecting the public."