Supermarkets in Gosport could be charged £310 for abandoned trolleys

SUPERMARKETS could soon be forced to pay hundreds of pounds for abandoned trolleys.
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Councillors at Gosport Borough Council are set to charge chains up to £310 for each trolley found strewn across the town and Lee-on-the-Solent.

If the motion is passed by council’s community board next week officers would keep the trolleys for a maximum of six weeks with the charge covering the retrieval and return costs.

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The costs cover £50 for handling, and £5-a-day storage up to a combined maximum of £310.

A trolley at Haslar Lake, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-LeighA trolley at Haslar Lake, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-Leigh
A trolley at Haslar Lake, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-Leigh

If the trolley is not claimed, it will be sold or thrown away but the supermarket will still be charged.

Chairman of the board, Councillor Graham Burgess, said: ‘If you wander around Gosport near the supermarkets there always seems to be lots of abandoned shopping trolleys.

‘Seeing them dumped on roadsides right across the borough makes the place look very untidy.’

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Cllr Burgess said there is not one supermarket solely responsible but said all stores need to up their game.

A trolley spotted in South Street, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-LeighA trolley spotted in South Street, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-Leigh
A trolley spotted in South Street, Gosport. Picture: Tara Barton-Leigh

‘It’s a fair number of trolleys being dumped by the wayside,’ he said.

‘It’s not from one particular store, but from all of them in the town.

‘We don’t want this to get any worse than it already is – that’s why we need to resolve this now.’

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In 2007, Havant Borough Council introduced a similar policy, with the scheme also implemented in Northampton, Wrexham and Gainsborough.

While the council could profit from the scheme, Cllr Burgess insists that is not the purpose of this new policy.

He said: ‘It’s not something we’re looking to make money from, but rather we will cover the cost of retrieving and storing the trolley.

‘I think other councils in the area should look at doing something like this.’

High street shoppers have also backed the proposal.

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Pensioner Anna Peterson, 76, from Gosport, said: ‘You tend to see quite a few abandoned in car parks.

‘I think it’s a good idea because something needs to be done about it.’

Graham Harris, 75, said: ‘I’ve seen quite a lot of abandoned trolleys, particularly near Morrisons.

‘They do send staff out to round them up but I still think this is a good idea.’

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