Calls to remove disused clothes banks in Gloucester
A local councillor says it's contributing to fly-tipping in some areas
Last updated 10th May 2022
A city councillor who's called on council leaders to remove defunct clothes banks from Gloucester, has been told private landowners will have to remove them instead.
Cllr Sebastian Field says it's been a "magnet" for fly-tipping in Podsmead, which he represents. There is also a bank in Quedgeley, by the vets.
At a council meeting in March, Cllr Field asked the following question to city council leader Richard Cook about the defunct ‘2Rs Community‘ clothes banks in the city. The charity closed down in 2021.
'There are several clothes banks for the ‘2Rs Community Resource Centre’ around the city, including in my ward of Podsmead on Burns Avenue, in Tuffley by the Seventh Avenue shops and in Chatsworth Avenue, and in Grange by Homleigh shops. An internet search shows that 2Rs was a Wolverhampton-based charity and that is was dissolved on 31st March 2021.’
Councillor Field said: “The answer I received was that If clothes banks are on private land then it is up to the landowners to remove them.
“I have subsequently provided a list of the banks I am aware of to the council, and they are writing to the landowners and the administrator of the charity, if they can locate the information.
“We cannot unfortunately just remove the bins as they may be a business asset.”
“I want to see this clothes bank removed. There are other options in Podsmead and the local area to recycle clothes, such as the bank at The Club at Tuffley Park, or Kingsway Asda and Quedgeley Tesco clothes banks,” he said.
“In respect of the Podsmead bin in Burns Avenue, we have suggested in the meantime hanging a sign on the bin to say this clothes bank is no longer in use.”
The ‘2Rs Community Resource Centre’ was a charity based in Wolverhampton that went bust in March 2021.