Toilets Scheme To Start On Monday
The Swan at Dobcross is one of seven premises taking part in the pilot scheme.
Seven premises across Saddleworth have now agreed to take part in the community toilets scheme which begins on Monday. The businesses will be paid by the Parish Council to let non-customers use their facilities for free, to help make up for the lack of public toilets in the area.
The premises involved are the Swan at Dobcross, the Diggle Hotel, the Little Big Shop 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. Each of the seven will display stickers letting people know they’re able to use the toilets inside.
The Parish Council will pay between £600 and £1,000 per year to participating businesses, to be paid quarterly in advance. Venues which stay open longer, and which have disabled and baby changing facilities, get a bigger share of the money.
If the initial six month pilot scheme proves successful and it’s decided to continue with the initiative, the Parish Council will spend a total of £4,900 on the seven premises in the first year, having set aside £5,000 from its budget for the purpose.
However, even though the scheme hasn’t started yet, there’s already talk of expanding it. Members of the Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership will tomorrow vote on whether to make a further £5,000 of Oldham Council cash available, which would allow more businesses across Saddleworth and Lees to join.
At the Saddleworth Parish Council meeting in Uppermill on Monday, Delph and Denshaw member Cllr Ken Hulme expressed concern that the village centre of Denshaw wasn’t represented among the participating outlets. He suggested that getting a pub in Denshaw itself to take part “should be the next target” of any expansion.
Cllr Barbara Beeley pointed out that, although the Ram’s Head is not near much residential property, it is a popular area for ramblers with several paths meeting nearby.
The facilities taking part in the scheme will be regularly inspected by staff from Oldham Street Scene, which is part of Oldham Council’s Environmental Services department.
The first community toilets initiative was set up by Richmond Council in south-west London in 2006, and you can read about that here.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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