East Devon loos reviewed

'We must take public with us' says councillor

A review of East Devon’s public toilets is to be launched which could lead to the closure of some loos.

More than six years after a review was first muted, councillors on the cabinet have agreed to launch a consultation.

Councillors were told that the current level of provision is no longer sustainable, and is not a service the council is required to provide. With a £3 million budget gap, the review aims to reduce costs.

All of the council run toilets have been provisionally split into three categories. Category A, where provision will be maintained and investment made to bring them up to standard. Category B, where they will look to consider marketing a lease opportunity for a different offer such as a café, to include a publicly accessible toilet. And Category C, where there would be no commercial alternative and would be offered to town and parish councils to run, but if they turned down the chance, they would be closed.

Cllr Geoff Jung, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “Most of our public conveniences were built in the 1950s and the plumbing and structures are not as they were. Some of the toilets closed for over a year there has not been much call for. Let’s face it, the loos are passed their sell by date and some will soon need to be shut as they will fail environmental standards. The world has moved on but our loos are a flashback to the mods and rockers.”

Cllr Cathy Gardner said that she was concerned about any charging for toilets as it would be a retrograde step for public health and as charging reduces the use of toilets, the council should do all they can to avoid it.

Cllr Paul Millar added that there should be one free of charge toilet in each town where there are areas of deprivation whatever the outcome of the review was, while Cllr Steve Gazzard said that they had to take the public with them on the review.

CATEGORY A

West Street Car Park, Axminster
Cliff Path, Budleigh Salterton
East End, Budleigh Salterton
Jubilee Gardens, Beer
Foxholes Car Park, Exmouth
Magnolia Centre, Exmouth
Manor Gardens, Exmouth
Phear Park, Exmouth
Queens Drive, Exmouth
Lace Walk, Honiton
West Walk, Seaton
Connaught Gardens, Sidmouth
Triangle, Sidmouth
Market Place or Port Royal, Sidmouth

CATEGORY B

Station Road, Budleigh Salterton
Imperial Recreation Ground, Exmouth
Orcombe Point, Exmouth
The Maer, Exmouth
Harbour Road, Seaton
Seaton Hole, Seaton
Market Place or Port Royal, Sidmouth
 

CATEGORY C

Brook Road, Budleigh Salterton
Dolphin Street, Colyton
Exmouth Bus Station, Exmouth
Jarvis Close, Exmouth
King Street Car Park, Honiton
Marsh Road, Seaton
 

In his report to the cabinet, Andrew Hancock, service lead for StreetScene, said: “The review proposes to invest in toilets that are retained to ensure the right toilet in the right place, this is important since no capital investment has been made for a number of years. Many of the sites need updating to meet modern standards and expectations as well as incorporating Covid secure/improved hygiene design features.

“While there have been a handful of local complaints about the inconvenience of some of our public toilets being closed during the pandemic, on the whole the open blocks have coped with the community need and we’ve had less complaints about the facilities as they are maintained to a higher standard."

He added: “The overall objective of the council should be to provide high quality, modern facilities that are mainly located in town centres, tourist areas and parks which help support these areas. The council should look at other means of operating toilets and be concerned with overall levels of provision, but not necessarily direct provision in all cases.

“We recognise that public toilet provision is an emotive subject and an important service. It is however non-statutory and costs almost £900,000 per year including recharges. With budget pressure from reducing government grants we must look at transforming how we operate services, and our medium term financial plan sets out targets for savings from different ways of operating.

The review will also determine whether to install contactless paid access on the retained toilets to enable a future income to help meet deficits and improve toilet standards and whether in-house operation, which is more cost effective than private sector operators, and whether they resolve to continue operation on this basis.

A recommendation that a capital budget of £3.15 million be set as part of the 2022/23 budget for the rebuilding or refurbishment of all Category A public toilets, subject to the results of the consultation, was also made to full council.