The MP for Arundel and South Downs has expressed shock over a decision to charge fundraisers for parking spaces during this year’s Poppy Appeal collections in Petworth.
Andrew Griffith has written to Chichester District Council on behalf of the John Newton military collection, after organisers, who display military vehicles to raise funds, said it was the first time they had been asked to pay.
This is the letter Andrew Griffith MP sent to CDC:
A spokesperson for Chichester District Council said: “Chichester District Council is deeply appreciative of the sacrifices this country’s personnel have made in the past and continue to make today and is fully supportive of the Poppy Appeal and its important work.
“The council has made £10,000 funding available to help parishes commemorate VE and VJ Day and is supporting memorial services across the district. We have also always provided space in our car park for fundraising efforts and remain committed to facilitating this.
“In this particular instance, the organisers decided not to use the space within the Pound Street car park this year because we could unfortunately not accommodate six large military vehicles. This was after we offered use of our large bays, which can accommodate three of their vehicles.
“The usual charges that event organisers would typically be expected to cover — such as signage, staff time, and licence preparation — were waived in this instance. However, we asked the organisers to pay a nominal contribution by covering the daily parking charge for a standard vehicle — which amounts to £2.60. This is in line with how we treat other charities who request space. As we do every year, we also offered additional space for poppy sales free of charge.
“We remain committed to working with the organisers to find practical solutions and we will always offer assistance wherever it is possible for us to do so.”
The news was broken on the Interactive Late Show on air each Wednesday from 10pm and presented by Duncan Barkes.
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