Wilmslow Town Council has agreed that they are not prepared to accept responsibility for the management of the public toilets in the town, which could result in their closure.
Cheshire East are proposing to transfer full responsibility for the toilet blocks on South Drive, in the car park by Sainsbury's, and at Twinnies Bridge car park to the Town Council.
This is part of an ambitious programme of service and asset transfer - designed to give each town and parish council an increasingly important role in deciding what should be delivered in its locality and how this is best delivered.
However, no funds or maintenance costs would come with the transfer of this non-statutory service so fees for cleaning, security and repairs would need to be covered by the precept, which is the part of your council tax charged by the Town Council.
These costs are estimated to be a minimum of £10,000 a year, which the Town Council felt was unwarranted given the availability of alternative toilets in the town centre, the fact they are underused and the difficulties associated with the Twinnies Bridge block.
The building on South Drive is currently unlocked for use from 9am weekdays until 4.30pm, 10am to 4pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Whilst the block by Twinnies Bridge is boarded up and non-operational, although from time to time it is brought back in to use when travellers occupy the nearby fields, as CEC are obliged to do so.
Cllr Christopher Dodson asked his fellow councillors for confirmation as to whether CEC will close the toilet blocks if the Town Council does not take them on, to which the response was they do not know.
What do you think about the town's public toilets? Are they underused or should the Town Council take over responsilibilty at a minimum cost of £10,000 per year to taxpayers? Share your views via the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I do agree with David about the unfairness of Cheshire East wanting to pass the responsibility to Wilmslow without passing an allocation of the council tax.
The 'ambitious programme of service and asset transfer' does make one wonder what Cheshire East does provide for its inhabitant. If schools then go to academies and town and parishes take on many of the jobs of the county one can only wonder what will be left?
Sainsburys does have customer toilets as does the library (but not for public use generally).
Stockport Council have a good "Community Toilets Scheme" whereby local authoritiy buildings and some businesses actively promote the availablility of their toilets for public use - see:
http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/communitypeopleliving/yourcommunity/communitytoiletsmap
Maybe one for WTC or CEC to consider?
Toilets-
"These costs are estimated to be a minimum of £10,000 a year, which the Town Council felt was unwarranted given the availability of alternative toilets in the town centre, the fact they are underused and the difficulties associated with the Twinnies Bridge block."
Firstly, the £10k cost was an off the cuff estimate, seemingly without any empirical evidence.
Secondly, the "fact" that the South Drive toilets are "underused" was based upon a comment from Cllr Crockatt, who said that he had been into the South Drive toilets "two, or three times in the last year and not seen anyone else in there", hardly a basis upon which to make a reasoned decision.
Finally, what sort of mad world is it where we are obliged to open a boarded-up facility (Twinnies Bridge toilets) only when "travellers" (i.e. non Council Tax payers) illegally occupy nearby land? Surely, the opposite would be more sensible?
I would encourage as many Council Tax payers as possible to attend your Town Council meetings:
time spent discussing Wimslow Vision (building 1500/500, whatever... houses)- 11 minutes; where to put the Romany caravan- 17 minutes; fixing up the River Bollin riverbanks- 20 minutes; food parcels for the local needy- 9 minutes; honestly folks, I do not know how the Town Clerk manages to keep things on an even keel.
I too attended the meeting and confirm and agree with your statements.
It was also good to see the Chairman giving each councillor in attendance a chance to speak on the fate of the Romany Caravan. What made me even happier was that his closing comments were that the councillors had been elected to represent the Wilmslow Public and not their own opinions.