The web Upton website
|
|
The web Upton website |
|
Gloucestershire Echo, 4th September 2006
CLOSE TOILETS? IT'S LOO-NACY 10:30 - 04 September 2006 A crowd of more than 100 gathered outside the King's Head in the High Street and demanded that the toilets in the road are reopened. Armed with banners they staged a 45-minute demonstration metres away from the loos, which were shut by Malvern Hills District Council in March to save money. One by one they took the stand on Saturday afternoon and called for the toilets to be refurbished and reopened. The crowd waved placards which read 'Don't Flush Our View', 'I Need To Go Mum' and 'People Need To Pee'. Standing next to a toilet reading 'Save Me', Malvern Hills district councillor Mary Wilkinson (C, Malvern Hills) said: "It's not a luxury, it's a necessity. "When you've got to go, you've got to go. It's a disgrace that we can't even provide a toilet for people. Yes we're a tourist town but what about the locals too? Our residents are elderly. A lot of people can't make it to the other toilets in Hanley Road." Fury erupted when prospective Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire, Richard Burt, blamed Conservative councillors for the closure. But Harriet Baldwin, the Conservatives' prospective parliamentary candidate, said the issue isn't political. She said: "This town welcomes people from far and wide. "It's impossible for a disabled person to wait. And what about children and the elderly? "It's not politics. It's common sense. We need our toilets." Chairman of Upton Folk Festival Richard Hannah, accompanied by mascot Coinwulf, said: "Thousands of people come through this town every year. "The coaches drop them off outside the toilets. The first thing they want to do is go to the toilet, but they're closed. It makes us look ridiculous." Campaigners say toilets in Hanley Road 300 yards away aren't sign-posted. A petition of 700 signatures was submitted to a special council meeting in April |