Community Toilets Scheme To Continue
One of the new signs advertising the toilets scheme.
Saddleworth Parish Council’s community toilets initative is going to continue for another six months at least. At last week’s monthly meeting, parish councillors agreed to extend the scheme beyond the initial pilot stage.
The scheme was introduced in February to help make up for a lack of public toilets in our area. It’s aimed at local people and tourists alike.
Eight premises have been taking part. They are the Swan at Dobcross, the Diggle Hotel, the Little Big Shop and the Granby Arms in Uppermill, the Royal George in Greenfield, the Saddleworth Craft Co-operative in Delph, the Three Crowns at Scouthead, and the Ram’s Head above Denshaw. Signs like the one pictured above have been going up outside each to let people know they’re free to spend a penny.
In return for opening their toilets to the public, the premises receive between £600 and £1,000 per year from the Parish Council, depending on their opening hours and the quality of their facilities. It was revealed at last week’s meeting that a total of £6,600 is going to be spent on the initiative this financial year. The Parish Council had already set aside £5,000 for the project, with extra cash coming from the Oldham Council-funded Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership.
Cllr Royce Franklin, who has played a lead role in organising the scheme, told his fellow councillors that a full review of its operation would be produced, and discussed at the next council meeting. He said: “The scheme is part of the Saddleworth Parish Plan and reflects the need for more facilities in the Saddleworth area.”
However, according to the Chronicle, there was some disquiet from certain council members. Cllrs Mavis Bingley and John Hudson queried why the premises were receiving different amounts of money, and why the precise formula for deciding the allocation of money hadn’t been made public. You can read the Chronicle’s article here.
(Editor’s note: I wasn’t able to go to last week’s meeting, and Cllr Franklin has kindly sent me the details of what took place)
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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