Disgraceful not one cubicle working,’says Deputy Mayor

VANDAL-HIT and problem-plagued public toilets in Wellington town centre could be closed for good by councillors.

The loos at Longforth Road are currently shut because of on-going maintenance problems and now members of Wellington Town Council are to meet to discuss what they should do about them.

Issues relating to the toilets came to the fore in June following an arson attack which town clerk Kathryn Hemensley said opened up a ‘can of worms’ and revealed that only one out of five cubicles were in working order.

But councillors heard on Monday that none of the toilets were now working properly and the toilet block was currently closed.

Discussion has already taken place about closing the toilets permanently but councillors were not happy about that suggestion until all avenues had been looked at.

“I don’t think I would be happy about closing them immediately,” said Cllr John Thorne. “They are predominantly for local people but they can also be used by visitors to the town.”

The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Mark Lithgow, said it was ‘disgraceful’ that not a single cubicle was in working order. “There are vulnerable people who have problems with their water works who might need these toilets,” he said.

The council took on the toilets a few years ago and it costs about £20,000 a year to keep them open. But they have fallen into a poor state of repair and a catalogue of problems includes faulty locks and lighting, blocked drains and electrically-operated functions such as hand wash, water and drier not always working.

Cllr Lithgow added: “We took them [the toilets] on and we have shut them. We have to have at least one open for people to use, while we look at the longer-term future.”

Councillors voted against closing the toilet block for good straight away, in preference choosing to discuss the situation in more detail and look at possible ways forward.

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “What we would like to see is to get one cubicle open – at least that would be providing some sort of service. But I know the town clerk is totally frustrated by all of this.”

Ms Hemensley said there were problems getting contractors out to maintain the toilets because of the ongoing problems. “I can get a toilet open but only by nagging and nagging and nagging and nagging,” she told councillors.

Cllr Marcus Barr said: “We don’t have a statutory obligation to have public toilets in Wellington. But these toilets are an embarrassment to Wellington Town Council and a liability to Wellington Town Council. We should have an informal meeting to look at turning this liability into an asset.”

Cllr Barr suggested that the main toilet block should be closed and converted into office space to allow the council to charge rent and get an income from it.