CHARITIES have labelled plans to use clothes banks to fund council services as a “regressive” act that would reduce their income by hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

The criticism follows plans announced by Brighton and Hove City Council to take control over textile banks on local authority land and reinvest up to £104,000 raised annually into improved recycling services.

Local charities and organisations could then bid for the remaining 10 per cent of income raised under a new recycling reward fund.

Brighton and Hove City Council bosses said the current system is run for the benefit of a small number of national charities and not for those operating locally.

There are currently 64 sites with textile banks, with the majority on council land and many installed by national charities with no formal approval or agreement, according to council officers.

In 2013-14, 375 tonnes of textiles were collected in the city with a value of up to £116,000.

The changes would hit several major charities hard, including The Salvation Army, which would lose up to £72,000 a year, and Oxfam, which would lose more than £7,000.

If the plans are agreed by councillors at the next environment, transport and sustainability committee, the council will invite bids for a three-year contract to install, maintain and service textile banks, with a view to launching the new scheme in November.

With the amount of clothes recycled impacting on the council’s recycling statistics, it could help raise rates which are currently among the lowest in the country.

Council officers said the new scheme would allow the authority to install more textile banks, including at schools around the city.

Maria Chenoweth-Casey is chief executive at charity TRAID, which receives an income of about £160,000 a year from its 21 sites. It has received £1.57 million in total since launching recycling in the city in 2006.

A survey by the charity last year revealed that 85 per cent of users strongly preferred donations benefiting charities rather than private companies or councils and that only one in 11 people were “happy” with funds going to councils.

She said: “Residents will see the majority of income from their donations generating funds for the council, rather than charities, essentially a tax on donations, something that our recent research tells us people do not support.

“We urge councillors to reject this regressive proposal, which simply works to reduce net charity income and limits the good we can achieve.”

Committee chairwoman councillor Gill Mitchell said: “Any proposals which aim to improve our services, provide more opportunities for residents to recycle and support local charities are to be welcomed.”