Town councillor's petition aims to save Market Street toilets

* The Market Street public toilets currently under threat.

A Llangollen town councillor is running an online petition opposing the controversial plan by Denbighshire County Council to get rid of the Market Street public toilets. 

As llanblogger has been reporting, the county aims to divest itself of all its public conveniences in a bid to save money. 

One suggestion it has made is that the toilets could be taken on by town or community councils but Llangollen town council has already said this is a non-starter in its case. 

The proposal has caused a storm of protest across the county and particularly in Llangollen. 

Now local town councillor Scott L Felton has started a petition at change.org,  which has so far attracted around 900 of its target 1,000 signatures. 

In the petition introduction he says: “Like most local authorities in Wales, Denbighshire County Council (DCC) has to find savings. It has targeted the entire public toilet asset within the county as, staggeringly, public conveniences are non-statutory. That means they aren't protected by law. They are thus an easy target for an authority with an appalling track record for abuse of the public purse itself.

“Llangollen is well known the world over as a day tripper and longer stay destination. It is home to the world famous International Musical Eisteddfod. The town sits within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the Llangollen Canal World Heritage site.

“It regularly features in the top 5 destinations within Wales in a plethora of polls and surveys. The bulk of the town's economy is tourism based. Despite this, DCC is willing to sacrifice that by closing down the town's (and others elsewhere) public toilets to save some money, part of the losses which are of its own doing. This is barbaric , uncaring, cold, heartless and defies logic.

“DCC has planned to close or otherwise dispose of the county's public toilets by close of 2024.

“Coach operators bring thousands of visitors to the town and drop off aside the toilets, most of whom immediately head there. Disabled, infirm, pregnant visitors etc rely heavily on such a facility. If the toilets close, those thousands of visitors will be dropped off elsewhere and Llangollen's economy will suffer hugely. Who has ever heard of a major tourist destination without public toilets?

“DCC's shoulder-shrug attitude is that visitors will use the private toilets of local businesses and community councils will take over the assets. It beggars belief that any human being could even think this up and actually promote it is a suitable alternative.

“If you've ever visited Llangollen, you will know how precious a jewel this little town is in Wales' crown. Please sign this petition to help force Denbighshire County Council to reverse its decision and keep Llangollen's public toilets open. “

* To see the petition go to: https://www.change.org/p/save-llangollen-s-public-toilets-denbighshire-council-abandon-any-closure-plans