Public toilets: Abergavenny 'has unusually high number'

Residents in one Welsh town are benefiting from an "unusual" number of public toilets, it has been claimed.

David Jones, the official who looks after public loos in Monmouthshire, said there were plenty available for Abergavenny's 13,000 or so people.

He answered calls for a rethink of the closure of the toilets in White Horse Lane, which have been shut since 2020.

Councillor Ben Callard argued there were few within easy reach, especially if you are on foot with a small child.

"The closest available are probably behind the Market Hall and if you are in that part of town with a toddler it is too far to go and I'm sure it's the same for the less able as well," he said. 

During Monmouthshire council's scrutiny committee, he asked if the county would consider allowing the town council to take responsibility for the toilets, as it has for others in the town. 

Mr Jones said public toilets at the Borough Theatre yard, Castle Street and Abergavenny bus station are being maintained, while loos at the JD Wetherspoon pub, The Coliseum, and the Morrisons supermarket are also available to the public. 

"It's unusual for a population the size of Abergavenny to have that many toilets, to be blunt."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the White Horse Lane ones have not been open to the public since April 2020.

They are to be removed from the council's updated public toilet strategy and their closure formally approved. 

Mr Jones confirmed the refurbishment costs had been estimated at £93,000 in 2019 due to roof and drainage issues and it was "the one [toilet block] police identified as having particular anti-social behaviour".

Croesonen Labour member Su McConnel said she was taken back by the repair cost that would be "enough money to build a house".

Mr Jones said the repair costs had been produced by the council's landlord services and the second highest cost at the time was £37,000 for the Abergavenny bus station toilets. 

The comments will be passed to the council's cabinet.