Mayor of Lymington and Pennington, Cllr Jack Davies, calls public conveniences ‘an embarrassment’ as he urges New Forest District Council to undertake refurbishment
PUBLIC toilets in Lymington are “an embarrassment”, says the town’s mayor who is urging the district council to undertake a refurbishment.
Cllr Jack Davies, who also represents Pennington on the district council, spoke out about the New Street facilities at a recent NFDC meeting. He has also launched a petition alongside resident Tom Cornwall, calling for “old, dirty, and unwelcoming” facility to be upgraded.
He said: “Residents are rightly dismayed at the state of the public toilets. Lymington is the retail capital of the New Forest but the state of these toilets are an embarrassment.
“When will these toilets be refurbished to the same standard as other local public toilets?”
Cllr Geoffrey Blunden, NFDC’s cabinet member for environment and sustainability, explained the council provides 23 public conveniences across the district.
He said: “We have a rolling programme of maintenance and upgrading. In the meantime these facilities are cleaned and restocked on daily basis, 364 days of the year.
“In addition, our street scene supervisors undertake regular checks of the standards of work by our cleaners to ensure they meet the requirements.
“Unfortunately, the toilets are only as clean as the last user left them, and not every user respects keeping the facilities in the condition the cleaner has achieved.”
He added: “More worryingly, there has been a spate of vandalism at our facilities, from graffiti and fire starting to the breaking of equipment especially installed to support our disabled community. It is a district-wide issue.”
The incidents are reported to police, he added, and NFDC staff repaired damages as quickly as possible.
Turning specifically to the New Street conveniences, he added: “I am sure you are aware there have been times when homeless people have sought to occupy some of the cubicles at this facility and this has limited regular access for cleaning staff and also the public.
“Homelessness is something which concerns us all, and the fact someone feels one of our toilet cubicles is their best choice of suitable shelter will be of concern to us all.
“I’m pleased to say our homelessness team are working hard to support these individuals, and as a by-product of this support the cubicles are being brought back into use.”
Pressed by Cllr Davies on when the toilets would be refurbished, he added reviews were held annually and decisions were made on a priority basis.
Speaking afterwards, Cllr Davies said: “I am disappointed to be fobbed off with a generic answer when residents are desperate for these facilities to be upgraded.
“The council claim to have a priority list but won’t say where the New Street facilities sit on that list. It’s not good enough.”
Mr Cornwall added: “The public loos in New Street are embarrassing. Local people deserve to have clean and safe public loos, and which give a positive impression to the visitors our town’s economy relies on.
“I’m pleased to be working with our mayor to get New Forest District Council to renovate the public conveniences and show a bit of pride in our town.”
Last Wednesday evening the toilets were targeted by vandals who set the baby changing area alight. Sharing an image of the damage on his Facebook page, Cllr Davies thanked the fire service for attending and urged anyone with information to contact the police.
