A petition organised by local Conservatives is demanding that the Council reopen the public toilets in Weston village, which were closed suddenly on Monday 14th July.
The petition, which has been set-up by local Councillor Colin Barrett and Weston resident Matthew Davies, calls upon the Liberal Democrat-run authority to consult residents on whether the toilets provided within the village’s revamped Tesco store are deemed a good enough replacement for the Council-run toilets on Weston High Street.
Conservative councillor Barrett has said that residents in Weston are ‘outraged’ at the way in which the Council shut the toilets without warning, despite the fact funding was made available to keep the toilets open whilst alternative provision was found.
Colin is also calling upon the Council to clarify what its future plans are for the toilet building, warning that residents will not put up with an empty and derelict toilet block on the High Street.
Cllr Colin Barrett (Cons, Weston) commented: “The way in which the Council has gone about this toilet closure, shutting them without consultation or warning, is a disgrace. People I’ve spoken to in the village are outraged.
“We’ve therefore launched this petition calling on B&NES to reopen our toilets whilst a public consultation is undertaken to find out whether local people believe the toilets provided in the Tesco store are a suitable replacement.
“We are also demanding greater clarity over the Council’s plans for the toilet building itself. Residents will not abide having an empty and derelict toilet block on our High Street.
“For a start, the resident who has over the years transformed the grass patch in front of the toilets into a garden has made it look superb, and we don’t want to lose this.
“We are simply asking the Council to do three simple things: reopen, consult, then decide on the future of the toilets. We know the money is in there to do it, as the Council earmarked the necessary funds in its budget.
“We’ll be out around the village over the coming days gathering as many signatures as possible for this petition.”
Councillor David Dixon recently revealed the number of toilets across the city were suddenly closed to make way for funding to create extra cubicles at a number of parks including the Royal Victoria Park play area, Sydney Gardens, Henrietta Park and Alexandra Park.