Welshpool’s HGV concern over lack of night toilets
Cllr Billy Spencer raised concerns during last night’s Town Council Property and Services Committee meeting when he asked why Welshpool can’t make the Town Hall toilets available 24 hours a day whilst work continues at the Tourist Information Centre.
He said he was aware of complaints made by HGV drivers who park up in the town, and fears drivers will simply not stop, meaning lost revenue from car park fees and food and drink to elsewhere.
The Mayor, Cllr Nick Howells, admitted he too had seen comments made on Facebook, but said there was nothing the council could do at present.
“If those lorry drivers park in Llanidloes or Machynlleth, for example, they will find there is absolutely no public toilets day time or night time,” said Cllr Howells.
Town Clerk, Anne Wilson, explained why the Town Hall toilets, which close at 6pm and reopen 90 minutes before trading the following morning, cannot offer provision through the night.
She said: “I would have to have someone there all night if we were going to make those toilets available for health and safety and fire regulations reasons. We don’t have a duty (as a Town Council) to provide night toilets and whilst it would be nice, the legislation prevents us from doing so.
“Tesco shuts at midnight and opens at 6am so there are nearly night toilets, but we are not opening at the current time.”
The council did agree last night to install CCTV covering the area outside of the Town Hall toilets to improve security and prevent vandalism as Ms Wilson said it was currently “a blind spot”.
The footage would be monitored by Town Council staff with Ms Wilson saying she was trained in monitoring CCTV by West Mercia Police having carried out a similar role in a town previously.
The lack of night toilets is a temporary issue as they will be available once again when work to transform the Tourist Information Office is completed in the coming weeks.
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