Plug pulled on South Hams public toilets to save £80,000
Public conveniences are set to close within a Devon district council area in a bid to save money.
The 48 toilet facilities in the South Hams will be shut for four months from October next year to save the authority £80,000.
Individual toilets could be closed from November this year if agreement is reached with a town or parish council.
The money-saving move comes in response to cuts from central government – meaning the authority is faced with plugging a £479,000 funding gap.
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South Hams Council leader John Tucker said: "Each case will be looked at individually based on usage and other factors. If the town or parish is unhappy about the closures then it may well be that they wish to take over running their toilets as other parishes have done. But we need to stress that there would be no closures before 2014 unless the parish or town councils agree. This will give time for parishes or towns to make a precept to find the money to keep them open, should they feel the situation demanded."
It said the total cost of keeping each toilet open for a year ranges from £50,000 down to £1,000.
2 Comments
by TrubblnStrife
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 11:24AM
“Surely public lavatories are among the basic facilities we have a right to expect in return for paying our Council Tax? Of course it's important to provide facilities for summer visitors, but we're the ones paying for them, so the least we should expect is to be able to make use of them throughout the year. (Unless, of course, we wish to experience the spectacle and attendant health hazards of people relieving themselves in public...)”
by SidneyNuff
Saturday, January 26 2013, 10:18AM
“You have to be a drug addict living on benefits to get any value out of the council these days.”