Decision over toilets still to be flushed out

As reported last week, the group presented a report to the Boston Town Area Committee on Wednesday, which detailed the current provision of public toilets - including details on how other local authorities have closed their public toilets and looked at ‘private partners’ such as local businesses to provide them.

The report, authored by Boston Borough Council’s head of operations George Bernard, said that ‘as part of the member-led EPC Task and Finish Group looking at the town centre, this option may well be discussed as a potential solution for the borough council to 
consider’. No alternative options were given in the report.

However, group chairman Coun Judith Skinner told the BTAC meeting on Wednesday: “I’d just like to say that the task and finish group is at the information gathering stage and have further meetings to receive more views.

“We are not looking to make any decisions at the moment until all the information is collated, and we have a meeting later on in February where things will be discussed.

“Nothing has been considered about what we’re going to do about these, we’re just looking and gathering information and I would appreciate BTAC’s views on the situation.”

The council currently runs five public toilets across the borough, with four of those in the town centre and the fifth at Leverton layby.

Mr Bernard was asked by councillors what the council and/or BTAC would have to provide, should it be decided to open a new toilet in the town centre.

Mr Bernard suggested the council would have to consider business rates, rent and the bills involved.

Coun Paul Gleeson said the council had to recognise that the provision of toilets was not statutory, but ‘does provide added value to the town’.