Toilets - and notice boards - on the agenda for Monday's Midsomer Norton Town Council meeting

Public toilets are back on the agenda for Midsomer Norton Town Council, with a report from outgoing Clerk Peter Finnis, going before Councillors on Monday, October 2nd. The issue of public toilet provision was raised by a member of the public at the Town Council meeting on September 4th, when Councillors were presented with a petition calling for:

•                    Toilets for the disabled like those near Wells Town Hall

•                    Multi-use toilets like those in Frome

•                    Location of toilets close to bus stops and the high street

•                    Some toilets with 24/7 access

At the September meeting Councillors asked the Clerk to undertake a feasibility study, addressing the petitioners' concerns. The briefing paper prepared by Mr Finnis, concludes that a new build toilet is not "realistically affordable or proportionate to the issue" and that the Town Council should "look into developing a community scheme", similar to that operated in Bristol and Frome, which encourages local businesses to "make their toilets available to members of the public throughout their normal opening hours".

This is not the first time the Town Council has debated the suitability of public toilet provision in the town, with the former Clerk, Donna Ford, putting forward a proposal for the Town Council to sub-lease the toilet block at the Dragonfly Leisure Centre, renovating and operating it for the public to use. This proposal, put forward in December 2021, was rejected by the Town Councillors at the time, as they didn't feel the Leisure Centre was the right location and the Sport Centre had made it's own toilet facilities available for public use. The Town Council resolution also stated that "members of the public can use the facilities in the public houses in the High Street", a sentiment echoed by the Mayor, Cllr Gordon Mackay, in a letter he wrote to the press in March this year.

The toilet block at the Leisure Centre was transferred from B&NES to Dragonfly Leisure, along with the play park and skate park, as part of a community asset transfer arrangement for the period of 99 years from 1st July 2015. Dragonfly Leisure maintained the toilet block for 18 months but chose to close the facility due to its state of disrepair. B&NES remain the landlord of the block. The 2021 proposal would have seen the Town Council renovate, run and maintain the facility as a public convenience for the residents of Midsomer Norton, with B&NES asked to provide the funding for the renovation costs.

The full agenda of the meeting on Monday - at 7pm at the Hollies in Midsomer Norton is HERE