Lack of public toilets 'may damage Torbay's reputation'

People have been reporting having to wait up to half-an-hour to use toilets

A lack of public toilets in Torbay will damage the area's tourism reputation according to a business leader.

Torbay's large, older toilet blocks have become difficult to maintain, with some closed and replaced with new facilities - but with fewer cubicles.

"Queues of people" have been reported and a business group said members were concerned with what visitors thought.

Torbay Council said it was bringing in portable toilets as a back-up and was already investing in toilet provision.

The BBC has been told there have been complaints of people having to wait up to half-an-hour to use facilities.

Susie Colley, of the Torquay Chamber of Commerce, said the closure of toilet blocks was "shortsighted".

She said: "We are expecting hordes and hordes of lovely visitors, never mind our residents.

"It's going to be devastating, absolutely devastating. I'm really concerned because it will have a bad effect on the tourists and a bad effect on the businesses in Torquay."

Mrs Colley said people who would usually go abroad on holiday would be coming to Torbay instead in 2021.

She said: "Imagine if you come down here to Torquay and you want to use the toilet and there is no toilet available, what memory are you going to take back home?"

Torbay Council said it was looking at a pre-payment card system as well as contactless payments to make access easier

Sara Della Grotta runs Sara's On The Beach cafe at Preston Sands in Paignton, where two large blocks were closed and replaced with just four cubicles.

She said the last school half-term holiday saw "queues and queues of people, waiting just to go to the toilet" and she was concerned such scenes would be repeated in the summer holidays.

She added people were "leaving the doors open [bypassing the 30p charge per visit] ... so, really, we're losing out in both [charges and what visitors think]".

Torbay Council said it was shipping in portable toilets to help during holidays, but also said data and CCTV evidence suggested there was not currently a day-to-day problem.

Councillor Mike Morey, of Torbay Council, said issues were arising because of toilet doors "being wedged open, or broken", sometimes because of vandalism, and "people are obviously going to queue for a free toilet".

The council said it was investing £2m in new toilets, with more cleaning and longer opening times. 

It added it also planned to reopen toilets at Preston South in the summer and, as well as contactless payments, it was looking at a pre-payment card system.