KEEPING Dunstable town centre’s last remaining public loos open involves spending more than a penny.
But a Gazette letter-writer has protested that the decision to shut them on Sundays is a public inconvenience.
Dunstable Town Council has stepped in to save the toilets in the Ashton Square car park from closure.
It took over the running of the loos from Central Beds Council on April 1 and is spending about £35,000 net on keeping the facilities open in the current financial year.
The town council does not own the public toilets, but is managing them under an arrangement with Central Beds Council, which is picking up a £15,000 bill for costs.
Now the public toilets are open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and a janitor service is still running for the facilities.
Dunstable man Chris Kennett has contacted the Gazette this week about an article on the changeover, in Dunstable Town Council’s regular newsletter.
He wrote: “In its latest Talk of the Town newsletter, under the heading of Keeping Dunstable’s Conveniences Convenient, the council upholds its belief that public toilets are an essential part of a thriving town centre and that it has agreed to provide an efficient and cost-effective service.
“What a pity, then, to discover that these toilets will no longer be open on Sundays and that both shoppers and visitors alike will now have no choice but to use commercial outlets, eg supermarkets, pubs, etc, should they need to find a loo in future.
“This is certainly not convenient and an added blow to residents who have seen an average rise of £17 in the town council’s slice of their council tax bill this year.”
Dunstable town clerk David Ashlee said: “The decision was taken to keep them open Monday to Saturday and not on a Sunday because it would have been too cost-prohibitive to do that, because we have had to absorb the bulk of the costs of running the toilets.
“Our council members felt that it was better that we run them six days a week and keep them open.”
And Mr Ashlee explained: “To keep them open for that additional day would have incurred more cost.
“Our primary concern was to keep them open on normal trading days.”
He emphasised: “Dunstable Town Council is committed to the town centre.
“We invest heavily every year in the town centre through various different initiatives.
“The town council felt it was vital that we keep the toilets open because we know how important they are to users of the town centre.”