Spending a penny in town could soon cost 20

TOWNSFOLK and visitors could soon find themselves having to fork out to use the town's toilets.

Stratford District Council is considering introducing a 20p charge at the town's three main public toilets - at Waterside, Bridgefoot and Windsor Street - in a bid to rake in cash.

Bosses think they can bring in as much as £180,000 a year if they introduce the charge - which would help them save the £250,000 they need to save on public toilets over the next two years to balance the books.

A report set to go before the council's cabinet on Monday (January 16) reveals bosses are also considering removing the shower facilities at Waterside, offering space for advertising at the toilets and placing dispensing machines at toilets to bring in more money.

In his report the council's head of technical services, Tony Perks, says: "Significant income could be generated from introducing a charge for using the main three public conveniences in Stratford.

"Data has indicated charging has been used effectively in a number of visitor towns across the country and 20p is a reasonable level of charge."

In the report it is revealed the Waterside toilets are by far the most used with more than a million uses a year, while Bridgefoot and Windsor Street receive around 200,000 uses a year.

The introduction of charging would require the installation of new equipment which would cost £35,000.

The council agreed public toilets were an area where substantial savings could be made when it set last year's budget but a working group set up shortly after stressed closing facilities should be a last resort.

The issue has proved controversial in the past and when toilets were closed at Stratford Library it prompted former Mayor Cyril Bennis to drag his Thomas Crapper toilet to Shire Hall in protest.

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