ASHBOURNE Town Council is to ask for a yearly stipend in return for allowing market traders to use toilets in the town hall.
Derbyshire Dales District Council was expected to close public toilets at Union Street and Mayfield Road from today and has requested that market traders be able to use toilets at Ashbourne Town Hall.
But, councillors for the town were not prepared to give the service for free and instead will write to the district council to ask for £250 a year to help cover the costs of cleaning and replacing toilet roll.
Now, the district council has had to move to keep the Union Street toilets open for market traders until the wrangle with the town council can be sorted out.
At a meeting on Monday last week, Councillor Alan Hodkinson said: “It was with interest I read that three businesses in Erewash open their toilets to the public for £700 a year.
“If we do let the market traders use the toilets, and I’ve no problem with them using our facilities, I think we should be asking for some remuneration and I would suggest that £250 a year wouldn’t be out of the way.” The council agreed to ask for the sum as more cleaning during wet weather, extra supervision and additional supplies would be needed to provide market traders with access to the town hall toilets.
The move is one in a series of proposals for toilets in Ashbourne which has seen an effort by the town council to retain public toilet facilities in the face of closures by the district council.
However, a district council spokesman said: “We’re conscious that market traders need a facility and are looking at several options.” It is thought the town’s new “superloo” is just too far from Market Place for stall-holders to use during trading hours.
Councillor Hodkinson added: “How are we going to police it? Because once people get to know about it, I think we have to make certain that the proper people will use it.
“How are we going to do it? Or is it just going to be on goodwill?”
