Our new loos need to be lovely, not bog-standard

CAMPAIGNERS WHO want new public toilets in Mytholmroyd have got right to the bottom of the matter.

Bog standard toilets won’t do either - they want the biggest and the best.

And by “biggest” they mean the cubicles should be larger and so should the toilet seats.

Sarah Crowley, who chairs the recently-formed Mytholmroyd Ladies’ Circle, made no bones about it when she said the new toilets should accommodate “women of a larger dress size”.

In a letter to the paper, she went even further and said it was important to “accommodate women with a larger posterior”.

Mytholmroyd has been without public conveniences since the last ones were demolished in 2018 as part of work on the town’s flood alleviation scheme.

Calderdale Council replaced them with a “community toilet scheme” where Mytholmroyd Community Centre and several cafés and hospitality businesses opened their loos to the public in exchange for a payment to cover cleaning and maintenance.

Now Sarah, 52, has started a campaign for new toilets to be built - but not just any old toilets.

She believes tourist towns such as Mytholmroyd deserve the best to cater for visitors as well as locals.

“I lived in Hebden Bridge for 12 years and there are plenty of public toilets but Mytholmroyd hasn’t got any,” she said.

“Obviously there are no tourists at the moment but we want them back in the future.”

Sarah’s vision for the new loos will see both the ladies and the gents have toilet attendants.

This will ensure the highest standards of cleanliness, hygiene and security. The ladies’ attendant, however, will have a greater duty of care to her clientele.

Sarah wrote: “The ladies’ attendant will also comment, if she is asked, on the lady’s appearance. (She will) also give advice and also might suggest that she (the client) should make an appointment with the hairdresser.”

Sarah also wanted “high quality toilet tissue” and also information screens in each toilet block giving local information about events and businesses, and also bus and train timetables.

Sarah said that the size of cubicles and toilet seats was a serious issue.

“We want different toilets for different people size-wise,” she said. “Obesity is quite a big problem.”

Sarah has written to Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker to enlist his support.

YOUR SAY: Comment online, on Facebook or Twitter @HxCourier

AT YOUR CONVENIENCE: Campaigners are calling for high standard public toilets to be built in Mytholmroyd with larger loo seats and cubicals, information boards and attendants to be introduced. The village’s WC’s, inset, were demolished to make way for new flood defences.