Neighbourhood News Spring 2024

43 www.sandridge-pc.gov.uk SPRING 2024 F or several years, the Parish Council has provided clothing banks in three of its car parks (Sandridge Village Hall, Sherwood Park and the Library/Parish Council car park). Earlier this year we were forced to ask the provider to remove their banks. Collections were too infrequent, resulting in regular !y tipping, o"en of items that were neither clothing nor shoes (baby seats were a favourite). As well as being very unsightly, this o"en incurred the cost of a waste contractor to clear the mess. We’ve now contracted the Salvation Army to provide banks at the Library/Parish Council car park and the Sandridge Village Hall car park. The key bene#ts of these new banks are that the Salvation Army bene#t directly from the income raised, that they collect any !y tipping le" alongside, and, most importantly, that they collect weekly. Additionally, the Parish Council receives commission for hosting the banks and this income, it was recently resolved, will be used solely towards sustainability projects. In the second month of our hosting the banks, 850kg of clothing and shoes were collected! Provided the newer Sandridge village bank causes no problems, a proposal will be made to the Parish Council to install a bank at the Sherwood Avenue car park, so please look out for that. To help us to continue this initiative, please avoid leaving anything alongside the banks. If you #nd one full, please call 01727 831871 (answer machine out of hours) and we’ll get it sorted asap. If you have clothing and shoes to contribute, please use our banks – some of the money raised will go directly towards improving the sustainability of your own neighbourhood! Simon Thwaites, Parish Clerk