Toilets should remain open in the town

I was very pleased indeed to see the item regarding the petition regarding Biggin Street loos and that they should remain open after the Lockdown. If we are looking at the town centre across from Forest Road on one side to the end of Baxter Gate encompassing the beginning of Derby Road to High Street, it is quite a large area which has a lot of shopping!

There is the new Bedford Square Gateway Project to take into account and the Market Place and surrounding shopping areas. If the Biggin Street loos don’t open again, then also the full extent of the shopping area beyond Swan Street. Many go to cafes and restaurants, but many won’t. People go into the town often just to ‘see what’s in the shops’ and also to integrate any shopping they had intended to do anyway. If there are toilets more readily available, these latter shoppers might linger for longer to look at those shops.

How many people will stop going into town, or go less if the toilets remain closed? I am very aware about the awarding winning features in the Market Place and I applaud that. The Biggin Street loos are a good back-up for those. Two is better than one in this case!

I am a Councillor for Lemyngton Ward, that goes from the Railway to Swan Street. I strongly think that many of my residents will welcome this course of action. Parents picking up their children from local schools will go to the shops going towards the town centre. There are many elderly people in my Ward, who have difficulty going into town because of toilet facilities and indeed, many younger ones, who are ‘caught on the hop’!

It is all very well to say that it’s only 250 metres, but that can be a long distance sometimes!

Our town has to be welcoming to all, including those who want such a good town centre to exist. This for extended shopping or who just to want to go to some shops for essentials without having to go into Market Place.

I am very aware that the Council has to be excessively prudent at the moment and that £20,000 is a lot of money. First and foremost our residents should have the basics including toilet facilities when they need them to acquire their daily basic necessities. These purpose-built toilets were placed just there for that. I really hope that they will remain for the future.

Christine Harris (Councillor)