OVER 100 PEOPLE turned up to a meeting to discuss the future of public toilets in Llangollen.

In April, the Leader reported that the future of public toilets in the town 'remained uncertain' as the town council sought further information.

Denbighshire County Council is reportedly planning to rid itself of almost all of its public conveniences to help balance its budget.

Council chiefs are hoping that the running of some of the toilets can be taken over by town or community councils.

If this was not the case, then many public toilets - including the ones at Market Street in Llangollen - would face closure.

That possibility has sparked opposition from local residents in Llangollen, including a petition which has been signed by over 2,200 people.

Llangollen Town Council has already ruled out a take-over on the grounds that it would be beyond its financial means and lead to a big increase in the amount it draws from council tax.

Last night (August 6), a public meeting was held at Llangollen town hall in order to allow residents and businesses the chance to discuss the possible loss of their loos on Market Street.

TOP STORIES TODAY

The meeting was arranged by concerned resident Rod Holt, with around 130 people turning up to hear him outline the issues.

Also in attendance were county councillors and town Mayor Aled Morris, but no representatives from Denbighshire County Council were present.

Mr Holt said: “This town has a number of events, such as the Eisteddfod, which bring large numbers of people here who need public toilets. We also have many coaches calling here whose passengers all use the toilets.

"If the coach companies hear we are going to lose the toilets they’ll simply stop coming. I know this is a fact because people have told me so.”

Setting out the town council’s position, the mayor explained that the county council was planning to shed its public toilets to meet an estimated shortfall of around £27.5 million in the next financial year.

But he described the town council taking over the Market Street loos as a “non-starter” on financial grounds.

He said it had been estimated the cost of bringing them up to modern standards would be at least £110,000, which would mean an increase of 57 per cent in the town council precept – the amount added on top of the council tax to run the town council’s local assets such as the Town Hall and Centenary Square. This, he said, equated to £45 a year.

(Image: Llanblogger) PIC: The meeting was well attended by Llangollen residents.

Resident Phil Jones suggested from the floor that the town council agrees to take on the toilets provided it could also take over the adjacent car park – estimated to bring in £187,000 a year in ticket sales – and use money from this to pay for the loos.

Retired local GP Dr Rhys Davies said that while the county council had no statutory duty to provide public toilets, it certainly had a moral one.

Another suggestion which was warmly greeted came from Eisteddfod trustee board member Dave Hennigan who said: “We should consider what we can do as a community to take action on this matter and if they won’t come to our meeting, maybe a number of us should go to theirs.”

The area’s new MP, Becky Gittins, who was in the audience and making copious notes, said she would do everything possible to get stakeholders in the issue together.

The meeting, which lasted just under two hours, ended with the mayor describing it as having been useful.

He said the town council, which had already had a number of meetings with county officers on the issue, would not be giving up on it and was still looking at a number of “different options”.

The county council is due to make the final decision on the fate of the toilets next month.