Magnet for fly tipping to be removed in Tuffley

A troublesome clothes banks in Tuffley that has become a magnet for fly tipping is to be removed.

Liberal Democrat campaigner Caroline Courtney has been campaigning for several months to get the banks outside the shops in Seventh Avenue taken away.

They were owned by Wolverhampton-based charity 2Rs Community Resource Centre which went into administration last year.

Bags of clothing have continued to be left piled up next to the banks, which have been removed but it is not clear by who - as charity cannot be reached on any of their contact details.

Mrs Courtney reported fly-tipping to the city council several times and despite sending waste contractor Ubico to clear up the mess and placing warning stickers on the banks, new bags continue to be left.

"While these clothes banks remain in place, the fly-tipping will continue to be a problem and meanwhile these donated items are not reaching the charities that could really benefit from them," Mrs Courtney said.

"Fly-tipping is for the city council to deal with but after going back and forth with both the city and county councils, I've discovered that the banks are actually on county council land.

"But in the interests solving the problem, the city council have decided to remove the banks once and for all, like they did in Podsmead recently."

Mrs Courtney added: "There are still plenty of places that Tuffley residents can go to donate any clothes or shoes they no longer need.

"There are Salvation Army clothes banks at Stroud Road Co-Op or Grange Baptist Church on Grange Road, or charity shops all around Gloucester such as Emmaus, Sue Ryder and British Heart Foundation, to name but a few.

"Any of these would gratefully receive any donations."