Underused public toilets could be closed down

A number of public toilets in West Oxfordshire could be closed or handed over to local councils after a review

Toilets which a council says are underused and costly to maintain are being considered for closure.

West Oxfordshire District Council currently spends around £270,000 each year to operate 13 toilets across eight towns and villages despite a 20p charge for use.

The council says it will begin talks with town and parish councils to explore whether they can take on responsibility for some of the facilities.

If not, toilets in The Leys, Witney, Browns Lane in Woodstock, Back Lane in Eynsham and Black Bourton Road in Carterton could go.

Well-used toilets will remain open, regardless of whether local councils agree to take them on.

The council says the toilets under threat are underused, in poor condition and together cost more than £130,000 a year to maintain so could be closed if a transfer agreement is not secured.

The district council's Executive Member for Environment, Councillor Lidia Arciszewska said: "We want to have conversations with our parish and town council colleagues on how we best protect and manage the service in the future.

"We want to make sure that well-used toilets remain open and provide a highest standard service.

"At the same time, we need to decide if managing the least used facilities is justifiable considering the cost to the taxpayer – the money which could be diverted to other local services.

"We have not made any final decisions yet and will only do so once we have engaged with local town and parish councils," she added.

Once the other local authorities have been consulted, a report with final recommendations for what should happen to each toilet will be considered by the district council's executive.