Agenda item

The Chairman read out correspondence from Downham Market Town Council as attached.  This was noted by the officers present.

Councillor Crofts addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He commented that he would strongly support the introduction of pay to use loos.  He referred to other Local Authorities who charged for the service and felt that Hunstanton was a prime area for a trial for a paid facility.  He also supported handing over certain facilities to the relevant Parishes.  In response to a question from Councillor Crofts, it was confirmed that the costs to install pay to use loos would include equipment, but the biggest cost would be installing a power supply.

Councillor Pope addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He felt that public toilets which were associated with a car park, or which were well used should remain and those unconnected with a specific activity or underused should be reviewed.

Councillor Bird addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34.  He referred to the public toilets in Hunstanton and explained that they were very busy during the peak season and often people were dissatisfied by the state of the toilets.  He commended the authors of the report for a full and comprehensive report.  Councillor Bird suggested that Hunstanton would be an ideal location to trial pay to use loos to see if they would be successful.  He suggested that an Informal Working Group be established to look at all of the public conveniences in the Borough.  The Public Open Space Manager explained that it was difficult to keep the public conveniences in Hunstanton refreshed during the peak season and sometimes the cleaners got verbal abuse when trying to clean during busy periods.  

The following comments were made by Members of the Panel which would be taken into consideration during the review:

·         Community toilet schemes were in place in other areas.  Businesses and Cafes etc. could be paid a fee to make their services available to the Public.

·         An independent review of public toilets in Hunstanton was carried out in 2014 and 60% of respondents had indicated that they did not want pay to use facilities in the Town.

·         The toilets in Gaywood had been closed for a number of months due to vandalism.  They were not associated with a paid car park and were underused.

·         The toilets in the Walks were well used and it was felt that these should be retained.

·         The provision of public toilets was important for encouraging tourists into the town centre.

·         Concierge services could be considered.

·         Sponsorship and advertising opportunities could be investigated.

·         Considering the amount of public toilets in the Borough there was a low level of vandalism.  Facilities subject to vandalism had either been closed, such as Gaywood, or repaired.

The Executive Director explained that his view was that the current arrangements for provision of toilets on car parks and amenities should be retained.  Other facilities should be looked at on a case by case basis and options could be considered such as closure, or transfer to the relevant Parish Council.  He referred to the report which contained details of pay to use loos and referred to an article about a Council who had installed pay to use loos which would not make any profit for over one hundred years.  He also explained that there was evidence available to say that they were not well used as people could be put off by paying and often people could hold the paddle gates open so that people did not have to pay.  Paid facilities would also have to be staffed and money removed on a regular basis to prevent theft and vandalism.

The Chief Executive felt that comments made by the Panel would serve useful during the review of the public toilets.  He acknowledged that the Council did not want to close anything, but expenditure had to be reduced.  It was important that a good core of quality public conveniences be retailed at points of arrival and those facilities that were well used.  The Chief Executive felt that consideration should be given to Special Expenses and each public convenience should be looked at on a case by case basis, including input from the King’s Lynn Area Advisory Committee, the relevant Parish Councils and the relevant Ward Member.  The Chief Executive explained that one way to look at the situation was as if you were starting from scratch where would you feel that public conveniences were necessary.

The Chairman proposed that an Informal Working Group be established to look at the public toilets review.  After being put to the vote it was agreed that an Informal Working Group be established.  The Executive Director suggested that the Informal Working Group meet two to three times and report back to the Environment and Community Panel at their meeting on 23^rd November.

RESOLVED: (i) The current arrangements for provision of toilets on car parks and amenities be retained. 

(ii) The comments made by the Panel would be taken into consideration during the review.

(iii) An Informal Working Group be established by the Panel to conduct a review of public conveniences and report back on 23^rd November 2016.

(iv) The Terms of Reference for the Informal Working Group was agreed as follows:  “To review the provision of public toilets in the Borough and consider future options.”

(v) The Informal Working Group to comprise of the following Members: Councillors Mrs Bower, Bubb, Mrs S Collop, Crofts and A Tyler.