Pembrokeshire County Council is asking residents to comment on public toilets provision in the wake of severe financial pressures facing local authorities.

Public toilet provision costs the council approximately £600,000 a year.

Provision of public toilets is not a statutory duty, but the Local Authority says it recognises the importance of toilet facilities to residents, visitors and the economy.

BBC research in 2018 found that Pembrokeshire County Council was the joint second highest provider of public toilets in the UK.

Through a contract with Danfo (UK) Ltd, the council currently provides 68 public toilets, including three on behalf of the Trunk Road Agency.

The strategy has been put together in the wake of severe financial pressures facing local authorities.

PCC’s Draft Local Toilet Strategy 2023 states that the council will seek to provide public toilets on a cost-neutral basis and acknowledges that existing levels of provision may not remain.

However, the council will look to build on measures already taken to maintain levels of public toilets wherever possible.

This includes charging for public toilet use (a 40p charge is currently in place at 12 of the highest footfall sites), funding via car parking income where toilets are located in or by car parks and – increasingly – public toilets being funded by or transferred to town and community councils.

The strategy also details supporting access to public toilets through renovations to existing blocks where possible, incorporating - Changing Places facilities, making available and promoting public buildings as public toilets, encouraging local organisations and businesses to open toilets for public use and improving signage.

You can comment on the Draft Local Toilet Strategy 2023 online at https://haveyoursay.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/draft-local-toilet-strategy-2023 or alternatively print off and return a hard copy response.

Please respond by Wednesday, March 1.

Responses will be considered by the council’s Cabinet prior to a final decision being made on the strategy.

Town and Community Councils in some areas have been approached by PCC to see if they will agree to accept financial responsibility to ensure that public toilets stay open.

That was the case with Saundersfoot Community Council recently whose members agreed to accept an ‘asset transfer’ of the toilets situated at Wiseman’s Bridge, if indeed the Local Authority goes down the route of closing conveniences as part of its budget balancing exercise.

Correspondence from PCC estimated that the annual cost for the running of those facilities at Wiseman’s Bridge being in the region of £13,128, which includes - cleaning, cesspit, consumables, responsive repairs, utilities, vehicles, management charge and overheads.

In a report that came before Saundersfoot councillors recently, County Councillor for the village’s North ward, Cllr Alec Cormack, who is also PCC’s cabinet member for corporate finance, informed members, that the process of setting a budget for 2023-24 was underway, with estimated savings of £28 million necessary to balance the budget next year.

He explained that closing or suspending public toilets across Pembrokeshire was one of the measures being considered by the Local Authority as part of discussions to balance the budget.

“This is a discretionary service provided by the Council, which means the Council has no mandatory obligation to provide this service, however as a holiday destination we have always been proud of having the largest number of public toilets per person in the country,” explained Cllr Cormack.

“Where PCC toilets are located in/near a PCC car park, the car park revenue has been used to support the public toilets.

“Recently PCC entered into discussions with the National Park about them entering a similar arrangement to subsidise the cost of the PCC toilets in/near their own car parks. Unfortunately no agreement was reached.

“This means that in the forthcoming public consultation on the budget, one of the measures considered is closing, or at least suspending public toilets.

“This does not mean that public toilets will close, just that it is one of the measures that County Councillors may consider in March,” he added.