Charity's bid for door-to-door collections in Northampton deferred by councillors

Cancer Research & Genetics UK wants to doorstep residents in the town to hold collections for their charity, but requires a licensing permit to do so.

The collections would be carried out by a private company, Recycle Proline Ltd, on their behalf.

But councillors want to find out more about them before giving them a go ahead, after both organisations failed to turn up to a licensing hearing that would have granted them permission.

The licensing committee of Northampton Borough Council, which met at The Guildhall on Tuesday evening (April 23), had invited both organisations to attend the meeting so councillors could ask questions, but there was a no-show.

Now the councillors will write to them asking them to attend a re-arranged meeting for questioning ahead of any decision being made.

Councillor Gareth Eales said: “This is a private company, even if they are acting on behalf of a charity. It wants to potentially take donations from Northampton residents, so I don’t see it as unreasonable not to know a bit more about how this company operates. It’s not just about their accounts, it’s about what confidence we can have in them.”

And Councillor Julie Davenport added: “I don’t agree with people going door to door, especially when there are vulnerable people out there. But they are probably a good company, we just need to know a bit more about them.”