Anger as park’s toilets stay shut but cafe reopens
A DERBY councillor has questioned the decision to keep the Alvaston Park toilets closed despite opening the café, saying it will be “bad for business”.
Councillor Alan Graves confronted Derby City Council after the café in the suburban park was reopened but the public toilets remained shut.
Mr Graves, who said several residents have been in touch with their concerns about the situation, said he has questioned the council on their decision.
Derby City Council has apologised for the continued closure of the toilets and said they are working “hard” to reopen them next week.
He said: “I sent the information to the parks department and the response I had was that they haven’t set a date for the toilets reopening.
“However, they have been working on a date and the department has taken a delivery of PPE, that is not an issue.”
In the response, Mr Graves said the parks department confirmed that precautionary legionella testing was being carried out in the toilets.
Although measures are being taken to reopen the toilets, Mr
Graves questioned why they had not been carried out alongside plans to recommence trading in the café.
The Alvaston ward councillor said: “This is how I feel about the council sometimes, when they don’t want to do something they drag their feet and I believe this is what’s happening here. I think it’s one of the major problems that the council has created for itself, public toilets are an essential need.
“We have to provide public toilets, there are a lot of people who struggle, they need to go to the toilet, it’s not just elderly people. A lot of children need to go to the toilet when they’re at the park and can’t wait for an hour to go to the toilet.”
Aside from being inconvenient for residents, Mr Graves said he thinks the situation will be “detrimental to business and those people who want to visit places in the city.”
He said: “They have opened up a park that sells drink but there’s nowhere for customers to go for a wee.”
In response to the concerns, the council apologised for the inconvenience to its visitors and Alvaston Park and said it is working hard to ensure the facilities can reopen safely.
A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “We apologise for any inconvenience to our visitors at Alvaston Park. We’ve been working hard to ensure that our facilities can reopen as soon as possible and that enhanced cleaning is in place for the safety of our park users.
“Arrangements are currently being made and we hope to reopen the toilets early next week.”