‘Absolute disgrace to the area’ - Call for clothes bank mess to be removed
A scruffy-looking clothes bank located outside a Redcar supermarket has been described by a councillor as an “absolute disgrace to the area”.
Councillor Marian Fairley said she had been in discussions with Asda about the clothes bank in Roseberry Square, used to collect items for the Salvation Army, and wished to see it removed.
Coun Fairley, who represents the Kirkleatham ward, vented her anger on Facebook and said people were just dumping bags by the side of it, ignoring the opening for deposits.
She said it was “leaving an unsightly mess” and items that were being left included household items.
Asda told the Local Democracy Reporting Service there was clear signage it had put up asking residents not to leave items on the ground.
A Salvation Army representative said it had visited on Tuesday (April 28) to clear items and was increasing collections to twice a week.
Coun Fairley said: “It is essentially a fly-tipping situation, we have prams, cupboards, things that are inappropriate. People if they do have spare clothing, they are not actually putting it into the bank, they are putting it at the side, and sometimes what they do leave is not appropriate anyway.
“It builds up very quickly and it tends to happen overnight, it is an ongoing issue. It makes the place look awful and I have had a lot of complaints about it with it being my ward.
“It’s not been a problem up to the last six months or so and then suddenly it has started to become more of an issue. There’s just a general excess of things that people are throwing away, I don’t understand where it is all coming from.”
Coun Fairley added: “There is an argument for keeping it, but it is just the fact that is not being used properly.
“It may well be that the first bag is a person who can’t be bothered putting it in the bank, then somebody else comes along and thinks ‘well the bank must be full, I’ll just put mine by the side’. Everyone else just follows suit.”
Asda said it was actively reviewing the situation with a view to potential removal of the clothes bank.
A spokesman said: “We have clear signage asking residents not to leave items on the ground and arrange collections when the clothing banks outside our Redcar store become full.
“We’re actively reviewing their use and thank those who use them responsibly.”
It is understood the clothes bank is a partnership with the Salvation Army, with some funds raised going to Asda’s breast cancer charity ‘Tickled Pink’.
A spokeswoman for The Salvation Army’s trading arm SATCoL said: “We are saddened to hear about the littering around our clothing bank at Roseberry Road in Redcar, and the disruption and mess.
“Our clothing bank collectors clear any fly tipping with every collection from each site. This clothing bank has now been cleared and we will increase our collections there to twice a week.
“We would ask people to report a full bank by contacting our helpdesk on 0808 141 5890 or e-mail us at [email protected].
“As a church and charity, we rely on the generosity of the public to help support our work, and through our collection banks we are diverting clothes from landfill by giving them a new lease of life – all while raising money for the work in communities across the UK.”