A Parish council located on the Suffolk and Essex border is struggling to keep the local public toilets open and are blaming the district council for not providing sufficient support on the matter.
The Long Melford parish council has to pay around £17,000 per year for the village’s two public conveniences – including £2,700 for business rates. For this reason, one of the toilets has been ‘mothballed’ because of the excessive costs compared to usage, a news report in the local media can reveal.
Mr. Gifford Lewis, the parish clerk, said: “Even on a very busy day, the toilets on the green are used around 30 times, so far from ‘spending a penny’ it works out around £10 every time a person uses the loo.
“While £17,000 doesn’t sound like a huge amount, it is significant sum to be added on to the parish precept and there is a question about whether local people should pay for something that is essentially used by visitors.
“We would be prepared to look after the toilets but we need a contractual agreement in place and to do this, we need to know where the district council is with its maintenance contracts.”
Unfortunately, the public toilets’ operational costs can be quite significant at times, so charging a fee for access is the most sensible solution when it comes to public toilets’ funding, and this is exactly where Toilet Turnstiles could really puts its experience to good work.
Our toilet turnstiles are built from graded stainless steel, for easier cleaning and maintenance, and also come equipped with lockable lids to prevent unwanted access. Furthermore, the separate coin box offers very versatile mounting options, as it can be installed either in front of the turnstile, at the side or alternatively, on the wall, with the cash box at the rear.
The turnstile’s coin mechanism can be programmed for virtually any combination of coins with a secure cash box to hold them, while the additional counters for the number of entries made will enable a thorough level of control over the system’s operation.
If you need some additional information regarding our extensive range of products, just get in touch, we’ll be sure to answer any and all of your queries.