Who is best placed to look after public conveniences?
This was the question that most vexed Babergh District Councillors in the course of the discussions about the Budget that took place in Hadleigh yesterday.
In an attempt to cut £1.7m from our not very large budget we are looking at all sorts of different ways of saving costs. So we are looking to cut £50,000 from the ‘public loo provision’ budget of around £250,000 by asking Parish Councils where the facilities are sited to take some of the management responsibility on themselves. Solutions are also being sought by approaching local businesses who benefit from the proximity of the facility. Some funding will still be available from the District. Experience with Sudbury Town Council, who manage their own loos, has shown that this can be done successfully. Indeed it is arguable that the job can be done more cheaply and effectively by those who are on the spot.
By way of background it should be noted that the District Council does not have a statutory duty to provide public toilets. Mid Suffolk District Council for example closed theirs some time ago. In Babergh however we do have a number of beauty spots, such as Lavenham and Long Melford, where public conveniences are really needed for the coachloads of visitors that arrive in the summer months.
Not surprisingly perhaps is was mainly the Members who enjoy the presence of public loos in their wards who were dubious about the proposals. I think officers managed to reassure most Members that, at present at least, there are no plans to shut the facilities, and that all that is being sought is a better way of managing them.
A loo with a view
