Public Conveniences and Tory Opportunism

Written by Richard Burt, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate on Wed 30th Aug 2006

Last week I visited the Memorial Hall in Upton upon Severn to see plans for the new temporary flood barriers that will be trialled next month. The £150,000 Environment Agency project will bring welcome security from flooding for Upton residents and is greatly welcomed. Malvern Hills District Council will be an active partner, working with the Environment Agency and others to ensure the success of the barriers when they are needed.

By contrast, Tory plans to mount a 'rally' in Upton next Saturday [2nd September] against the closure of one of the town's toilets whilst negotiations continue between Malvern Hills District Council and Upton Town Council are opportunist to say the least!

No-one would back the closure of modern, hygienic toilets with full disability access - except perhaps Conservative-controlled Solihull Council who this year planned to close ALL public toilets in Solihull Borough at a saving of £211,000!

It would have cost over 1% of the council's revenue expenditure for the district alone to keep the closed toilets open this year. However, town councils, because of their lower cost/overhead base, could do the job for much less. Considerable improvements will also need to be undertaken if the toilets are to be re-opened in the future, so without seeking to make political capital, let us hope that district and town councils can come to a suitable agreement.

Successive governments have squeezed local authority finances at the same time as placing more statutory obligations on what services they must deliver. That's why councils, in order to balance their books without huge rises in Council Tax, are forced to make savings in non-statutory areas such as toilets, school music services, swimming pools and even town halls. In reality, no council of any political persuasion is exempt.

It is also worth noting that the Conservative Party sided with the Government in refusing British Toilet Association calls to consider the introduction of a statutory framework for the provision of public toilets by local authorities.

Everybody has made their views clear on this long running issue. The responsible approach would now be to wait until the outcome of current talks.