Campaign for disabled toilet facility launched
A CAMPAIGN for a fullyaccessible disabled toilet to be installed in Llanelli town has been launched, and a meeting has been held with MP Nia Griffith, who is supporting the call.
What is needed, say campaigners, is a Changing Places toilet. This is spacious and equipped with a hoist and changing bench.
They are vital for people with severe disabilities or conditions like multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease.
Despite this, there are none of their kind in the town centre and only two in Carmarthenshire - neither of which are provided by the county council.
MP Nia Griffith took part in a parliamentary debate to highlight the need for a roll-out across the country.
Miss Griffith said: “For many people, knowing that there is a fully-accessible Changing Places toilet in an area can mean the difference between going out and staying at home.
“It is absolutely essential that we get one installed in Llanelli near all the town centre facilities.
“I am glad that feeling is shared by the Llanelli Town Council and that councillor John Jenkins has reported back a positive response from the Carmarthenshire Council.”
Councillor Jenkins explained: “We have had a very positive response from the county council’s executive board members councillors Jane Tremlett and Hazel Evans and their staff. We are hoping for a particular unit in the Eastgate development, which we would very much like, given how close it is to the car park, bus station, shops, cinema and theatre.”
He added: “I am told that this is currently let out to a third party who apparently
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Bethel, Cefncaeau only use it for storage, and that the county council could quite possibly find them alternative premises elsewhere.”
Claire Melville is one of the Llanelli residents campaigning for a Changing Places toilet who recently met with MP Nia Griffith and AM Lee Waters.
She has started working Community of Christ (Trostre Road) Pentecostal Church Elim with councillor Jenkins, Llanelli Town Council and Josh Rosenthal, a 21-yearold wheelchair user from the town, to raise the issue and lobby the county council for help.
Ms Melville said: “As a parent of two autistic sons, who are still in nappies, there aren’t any suitable toilets around Llanelli that we can use.
“There are many reasons why hundreds of people in Llanelli need a changing places toilet.
“The standard disabled toilets just aren’t suitable for certain disabilities.”
Keith Thomas, an ostomate living in Llanelli, added: “I feel we need a changing places toilet here in Llanelli to afford those who need it the dignity they deserve, no matter the cost of it.
“Not all disabilities are visible, as is the case with ostomates, you just see the person not the colostomy bag.
“Having a Changing Places toilet in Llanelli would be such an asset and it would make the decision whether to venture out a far easier one for so many people.”
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