“Welcome to Pembrokeshire, provided you don’t need to use toilet facilities.”

With tourism being of huge importance to this area, Ruth Ashworth, of Milton, a member of Carew WI, rails against the forthcoming closure of the village’s well-placed and well-used WCs in a letter to the editor.

“Visitors are very welcome provided they only visit places where they can be sure of public toilets or have enough money to visit a cafe, pub or restaurant for a drink.”

“Carew is visited 365 days a year by hundreds of visitors walking around the Mill Pond and Castle,” she writes.

“A few toilets in the Castle grounds - not even sufficient for Castle visitors who are encouraged to attend large scale attractions all year round - can hardly be said to mitigate the impact this closure would have.”

You can read about Pembrokeshire County Council’s local toilet strategy at www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/local-toilet-strategy, but it’s not a pleasant read. Regarding fully-council-funded WCs, Cabinet agreed two years ago that if alternative funding is not identified and there are no other unique circumstances to consider, then facilities will be closed.

But like Ruth, we fail to see how PCC can justify closure of these year-round facilities - especially when wellbeing, accessibility and equality are at stake.

“Walkers and drivers passing through, couriers, posties, cyclists, plan their routes assuming that if needs be, they can stop at Carew. Not any more; from 1st April, 2025 they will close, despite a vigorous campaign led by the Community Council.”

Mindful of the Equality Act 2010, Ruth asks if anyone has seen an impact assessment of these closures on such characteristics as age, disability and gender. Wales has a specific requirement for Public Bodies - Public Sector Equality Duties.

“The impact as far as Carew is concerned is huge. This short sighted decision will deter those across our society who need to get out and about,” she continues. “We are being encouraged to do so for our own wellbeing.”

It’s a phenomenon described by the Royal Society for Public Health as the ‘loo leash’ whereby people avoid venturing far from their homes for fear of needing the loo and there not being one available.

PCC’s proposed Well-Being Objectives for 2025-30 include “prosperous places, with clean, safe and sustainable environments, where people can live well and thrive.” Just how is the closure of public loos supposed to help achieve this?