Councillor calls for action on disused clothes banks

A city councillor is calling for action on disused clothes banks in Gloucester.

Councillor Sebastian Field, who represents Podsmead for the Liberal Democrats, has already raised the issue with city council bosses.

A meeting of council in March, Councillor Field asked a question of city council leader Richard Cook about the defunct ‘2Rs Community‘ clothes banks in the city. The charity closed down in 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.”

Councillor Field said the clothes bank at Burns Avenue in Podsmead has been a magnet for fly-tipping for some time.

“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.”