Toilets closure is a disgrace

I feel I must add my opinion to the controversial action of closing the public toilets in Ashford’s Vicarage Lane car park.

I think it is a disgrace. To state they could be used by drug users and for other purposes is a poor excuse.

So they say certain shops will allow people to use their toilets, but how do we find out where they are?

If it is a small shop it will be embarrassing to ask to use the facilities and will make people feel obliged to make a purchase.

Most visitors to the town arrive by car and after travelling a long distance the first thing to do is usually find a toilet. It could be difficult for them to find an appropriate shop.

Concerning the cost, Ashford Borough Council has purchased various large assets (the Park Mall shopping centre for example) and will receive millions of pounds from new buildings, so surely a comparatively small amount could be used for providing a toilet block.

A method for saving money could be less use of mechanical road sweepers. Where I live they appear on a regular basis but there is very little to sweep. What dirt there is ends up by the kerb but most cannot be reached because of parked cars.

So please Ashford Borough Council think again and provide what residents want. P J O’Brien Springwood Drive, Ashford

The DH60G Gypsy Moth that crashed into a railway cutting near Bekesbourne airfield in 1934