Call made to make public toilets free
‘Not a welcoming place for visitors’
A LOUGHBOROUGH man has quizzed councillors for the town as to why the public toilets couldn’t be free to users once again.
Mr John Barton posed the question at a meeting of the newly formed Loughborough Area Committee, which is made up solely of councillors who represent the town on Charnwood Borough.
The committee has a consultative role only, but can forward its thoughts to the borough’s decision makers.
Charges for the toilets were introduced in 2010, and at last week’s meeting Mr Barton said that with empty market stalls and empty shops around the town, the councillors might: “Realise that the town is not a welcoming place for visitors if they have to pay for the toilets when they come here.
“I would ask you to make them free again.
“Public toilets have been free all the way from as far as I can remember which is probably since decimalisation, all the way until 2010.
“It was one of the good things about Britain and the bad things about Europe and I don’t know why you’re adopting the bad things about Europe as we are leaving Europe. It makes no sense.
“If you are really determined not to make the toilets free, if I got together a group of volunteers to run them, could I take them off you and make them free of charge.”
He also asked why is the council spending so much money on things such as floral hanging baskets when it can’t even afford public toilets?
At the meeting Labour’s Coun Jewel Miah said that his party had opposed the charges, but the Conservatives had carried it through.
He said that Mr Barton had raised a very good question.
He added: “Is there an incentive that we can provide free toilets for people who come into the town centre and he’s right big supermarkets out the town shopping centre areas, their toilets are free and why do the council charge for the amenities that the public so desperately need, but also that they pay through with their council tax.
“I can understand that it costs £75,000 a year, but when the council’s got nearly £11m in reserves that pales into comparison to the amount.”
Independent Coun Roy Campsall said: “I was on the committee at the time and we were told it was either have a small charge or lose them because of the cost of running them so to me it’s commonsense to charge a bit of money or lose the toilet.”
The official written full council response to the question was: “The council continues to maintain 10 toilets across the borough, with three in Loughborough town centre, at a total cost of £78,100.
“There are also toilets provided in some of our parks and open spaces, the toilet in Queen’s Park is included within the town centre toilets.
“With reduced funding from central government, across all services, councils are being encouraged to achieve full cost recovery of services.”
The 20p charge commenced in 2010, and has not increased since that point in time.
A council led consultation at the time asked the public whether they should close or charge, the public voted in favour of the nominal charge.
“With 175,260 users each year, the toilets generate approximately £35,000 income which goes towards the maintenance of the toilets and employment of staff to clean and secure them.”