Birmingham Big Issue sellers get their own hut

Nov 8 2007 By Emma Cullwick, Birmingham Mail

BRITAIN'S first ever official Big Issue vending kiosk has been built in Birmingham - and it comes complete with a kennel for homeless people's dogs.

The hut, which cost £7,500 to build, has been erected outside Paradise Forum in the city centre and is aimed at giving homeless people an official designated spot to sell the magazine.

The idea was the brainchild of developers Argent, who have spent £2 million over the past two years boosting Paradise Forum.

Ian Clark, spokesman for the firm, said: "Paradise Forum is one of the busiest thoroughfares in Birmingham with almost 12 million people passing through it every year so for good reason it has always been extremely popular with Big Issue sellers.

"We decided to approach the Big Issue with a proposal for building a permanent kiosk from which vendors could sell the magazine and happily they gave us their wholehearted support.

"We have a strong track record for community involvement in Birmingham and the men and women who sell the Big Issue are very much a part of the city that we all know and love and hopefully, thanks to the new vending facility, they will have somewhere permanent to sell their magazine for years to come."

The Big Issue was launched in 1991, giving homeless people an alternative to begging.They buy the magazine at an up-front cost and sell it on for a profit.

Heidi Swift, Big Issue manager in Birmingham, said: "We go to great lengths to promote responsible sales among our vendors with a strict licensing and training programme so it is very gratifying for organisations like Argent to appreciate what these vendors are trying to achieve and help them accordingly.

"The Big Issue hut is a brilliant new initiative for the organisation to be involved with and another tool with which to identify genuine, hard working vendors from the rogues.

"We are extremely happy with this permanent solution which will not only be an extremely useful asset for the city's vendors but will also promote their credibility amongst the general public and hopefully make their often-challenging lives just that little bit easier."