Public toilets at Dartmeet to close to save money

Dartmoor National Park Authority is facing a 9% cut in funding from April

Public toilets in Dartmeet will close at the end of March after Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) decided not to renew a lease.

The authority wants landowners or the parish council to provide toilets on land next to the River Dart, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Dartmeet toilets cost £18,000 a year and needed investment of £38,000 over the next five years, the parks authority said.

It surveyed the toilets it provides ahead of the lease for Dartmeet coming to an end, and before a 9% cut in funding from April.

Vandalism problems

It considered reducing opening months to between April and September, but said this would not significantly reduce costs.

The authority also looked at charging users, but said there were problems with coin machines or vandalism at other locations.

Toilets are due to reopen at Lydford as the park authority takes them over West Devon Borough Council; and facilities at Haytor, Meldon and Venford will be refurbished.

Some other toilets in Dartmoor National Park, such as those at Newbridge and Widecombe, operated by Teignbridge District Council, are being reviewed.

The lease of Princetown toilets at the Old Duchy Hotel, run by West Devon Borough Council, runs out in 2026.

Neither DNPA or local authorities have to provide public lavatories.

Park authority member Sally Morgan said she believed parish councils could step up.

"Some are sitting on a lot of money and not really spending it in their areas," she said.