Visitors fall foul of blocked drains

PROVIDING proper facilities for folks to spend a penny at Burbage Common will cost the council £50,000.

The toilets in the visitor centre are recognised as woefully inadequate for the amount of visitors taking a comfort break.

Linked to a septic tank, the two loos have been continually ‘backing up’ because of demand for relief.

Currently a sewage company pumps out the tanks at a cost of £150 per trip but this is consindered unsustainable as failure to attend at peak times poses obvious public health risks.

In a bid to eradicate the effluence error once and for all Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council is looking to give the centre its own treatment tank.

Since Severn Trent say connection to a main sewer is highly unlikely this is seen as the most practical option.

At their latest meeting councillors on the executive committee agreed to spend the £50,000, from money saved on the demolition of Hinckley’s old leisure centre.

Burbage Common Visitor Centre opened in 1989 and initially offered an information hub plus rest area with drinks vendor and a male and female toilet.

A further public toilet block was situated outside but was closed down following incidents of antisocial behaviour, leaving just the centre conveniences.

In recent years more visitors have been drawn to the centre thanks to the opening of the Acorn Cafe with the toilets available for both customer and public use.

With more people using the centre and the toilets the septic tank system is sorely insufficient.