Public Conveniences
Lower High Street

Malvern Gazette, 24th March 2006

Sue faces fury over loo vote UPTON'S district councillor says she did not realise people were so against the closure of the town's Lower High Street toilets when she voted in favour of it. Sue Adeney put her hand up with 16 of her Liberal Democrat colleagues before the decision to shut the loos was forced through on the casting vote of Lib Dem council chairman Val Myatt. A 500-name petition was raised in Upton against the closure, amid concerns about its impact on the tourist trade. Town councillors met on Tuesday and launched a sustained attack on the decision and the district council's move to discontinue free evening parking. Both were seen as high-handed decisions taken by the Lib Dem-controlled authority against the wishes of local people. "These are big issues for Upton and the district council is ignoring the wishes of the people," said Coun Tim Drake. Coun Adeney, whose district council seat covers Upton and Hanley, was asked to explain why she voted for closure of the toilets in the face of strong local opposition. She said she had not voted for or against Upton but in the interests of the district as a whole. She said she had been unaware of the strength of opposition in Upton. The town council will continue its fight. It will send a letter to the district council stressing the importance of keeping the toilets open, before the matter is re-considered by MHDC on April 3. The state of Upton's pavements and streets was also discussed at the meeting, with councillors criticising the poor condition of Gardeners Walk, Dunns Lane and Minge Lane. They were described as having a patchwork of different surfaces, poor repairs and subsidence, which looked unattractive in a tourist town and made life difficult for the elderly and people with pushchairs. It was decided to tackle specific potholes through the Highways Partnership Unit. Letters Come on board AS the report by Jo Lafferty (Malvern Gazette, March 17) correctly pointed out, we did indeed let the elected Liberal Democrat councillors make up their own minds when the toilet closures were debated. As to the question in your editorial "are we delivering what the electors voted for?" I could fill up an entire page with the service improvements that have been achieved by the Liberal Democrat/Green administration. Suffice it to say this has been done while implementing a financial strategy that has seen us post a below-inflation Council Tax rise. However, to achieve this means taking the tough decisions as well as the easy ones. The revenue costs to MHDC to keep the toilets in question open are in fact £30,000pa, not the £4,000pa quoted by Coun Paul Cumming. This equates to just over an extra 1 per cent on the Council Tax precept. However, the town councils of the district, because of their lower cost/overhead base, can do the job for much less than the district council. To conclude, it is my view that all levels of local government are here to provide services to the public at the lowest possible cost in partnership with each other. We have the will to do so, it is up to the others to come on board or not as the case may be. Clive Smith, Greenfields Road, Malvern Link. Retrograde step I WAS horrified to discover that the public toilets in Malvern have now closed and may be sold off. Public - the word means people, but this decision tells me that the people of Malvern and the thousands of visitors that descend on our lovely town have no say in the fate of our much needed facility. This is purely a cost-cutting easy option and the people of Malvern should demand the decision be reversed. These councillors responsible for this retrograde step should be replaced by people who really care about Malvern and the county. MICHAEL KENT, Colwall. Let's try and behave like reasonable, sensible people With the very positive help of Coun Phil Groves, we have together brought the subject of toilet closures back to council for further debate on Monday, April 3. It was very easy to collect sufficient votes - councillors were queuing up to sign. I would like to issue a challenge to all Malvern Hills councillors who may be present at the meeting to feel that they are allowed to vote to each person's own conscience, rather than vote under the banner of politics. After all, every one of us uses a lavatory, which makes it impossible to think of that venue as a political issue! Without the restriction of the party whips, we might, or might not, win the day. If we do not, then that is an end to it. If we did get sufficient votes to go further down this long and tortuous road, we could perhaps then re-start meaningful negotiations, with every concerned party being able to meet round the table with the aim of providing a reasonable standard of public hygiene both for our residents, and for our visitors. It doesn't seem like rocket science, does it? Let's try and behave like reasonable, sensible people. Let us play this game without politics - if only for the sake of those hundreds of voters who have told us what they want! Coun Mary Wilkinson, (Independent, Upton).