Readers Letter . . . .
August 6th, 2011
Proposed transfer of public conveniences to the Town Council
As sent to Newcastle Emlyn Town Council. August 2011
As councillors will no doubt be aware, the County Council is proposing to transfer its public toilets across the county to community councils with an offer of a £1,000 improvement grant and a commitment to pay business rates on the buildings on a permanent basis.
In view of the importance of tourism to Newcastle Emlyn and for the sake of local people, it is to be hoped that the Town Council will take up this offer and ensure that the toilets remain open. I also hope that the Council will resist any temptation to start charging the public for the use of the facilities, as that would no doubt only encourage thieves and vandals.
I am sure that the Council will wish to consider the county’s proposals carefully, as this will be a major additional commitment for the Town Council. To that end, I would like to suggest that the Council approaches Dai Lewis with a proposal that the livestock mart make a significant contribution to the continued running of the facilities.
As the son of a farmer who has attended many livestock markets and agricultural shows, I can vouch that the farming community does not always have a very good aim when using facilities of this kind, and I understand that the cleaner has a much tougher job on days after a Dai Lewis mart.
In view of the loss a couple of years back of parts of the public car park to the mart and the very restricted access the public has on mart days from the car park to the town, it is to be hoped that Dai Lewis will recognise that a generous gesture will help to show that the mart is prepared to give as well as take.
Yours faithfully
Richard Vale
A short update.
The decision to offer the county’s public toilets in about 26 different places across the county was taken by the County Council in a private session, with members of the public being asked to leave the meeting. The report which makes the recommendations was exempted, meaning that it cannot be published. Why the daft secrecy?
Public conveniences in five other locations, considered to be tourist “hotspots” will remain open and run by the county. This includes Carmarthenshire’s loos in Cenarth. Most people will be familiar with the public toilets just over the bridge in Ceredigion, which of course are run by Ceredigion. The loos Carmarthenshire wants to keep are hidden away by the car park off the Abercych road. Why does little Cenarth need two lots of public toilets, one of which is so well hidden that not many people will know it exists?
Finally, it seems that the county council may well have got things wrong about the mart car park loos, and that it is legally obliged to keep them open because of the terms of its lease with the mart itself.
Tourism is important to the town in the summer months, and the availability of clean public toilets at the place most visitors first see when they arrive is essential.
The stupidity and secrecy surrounding this decision sums up well what is wrong with the county council.