Post date: Jan 07, 2015 11:18:24 PM
The Council pays some local businesses to provide alternative toilet facilities. They are:
Costa Coffee: £1,000 p.a. disabled toilet/baby changing and 1 unisex cubicle
Odeon Cinema: disabled toilet/baby changing and segregated (male and female) toilets
Waitrose: disabled toilet/baby changing and segregated (male and female) toilets
The Council intends to add: Beckenham Public Halls (disabled and segregated toilets) Sainsburys: single unisex toilet and The Spa, Beckenham Road: disabled toilet/ baby changing and segregated toilets.
The Beckenham Society feels that these are a very poor replacement for the existing public toilets which are centrally located to the High Street, spacious, spotlessly clean and frequently used by residents and visitors to Beckenham. In particular, three of the alternatives are not on the High Street. Both Waitrose and The Spa are too far away to be convenient. Of those on the High Street, The Odeon opens only in the afternoon. Costa is cramped and difficult for the public to circumvent the queue at the counter and has not always been found sufficiently clean. Costas’ facilities are barely sufficient for its own customers, but Costa takes £1,000 p.a. from the taxpayer. The single toilet at Sainsburys is also cramped and has often been found out of order.
The report recommending closure will be published 3 days before the Council’s Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee (Environment PDS) meets on 20 January . If approved, the recommendation is likely to be confirmed by The Council’s Executive on 11 February.
However, response my Freedom of Information request shows the Council has:
· not matched the opening hours of the existing facility – particularly at Costas and Public Halls
· not properly consulted the public or local councillors
· exaggerated savings and has no precise idea of any savings that may be made
· not considered alternative ways of raising revenue eg advertising on the toilets or charging
· no data on usage of the existing public toilet or existing alternative facilities;
· overlooked need for toilets for large number of visitors for Sunday fairs/markets etc on Beckenham Green
· no plans to advertise the existence of alternative facilities except on its web site
· provided inadequate signage to existing alternatives
· no plans for regular checks on the cleanliness of alternative facilities
· no plans to provide secure parking which cyclists now have when using the toilets
· not allowed for alternative providers demanding more money when public toilets are demolished ;
· forgotten that the Beckenham public toilets were cited as the alternative when it closed the toilet in the North of Kelsey Park. This leaves those users without facilities within reasonable distance.
The Council cites the pioneering success of the Community Toilet Scheme in Richmond Borough. Richmond has over 70 participating businesses in total which is many more than Bromley. In Richmond Borough, comparable districts to Beckenham have 8 or 9 alternative facilities. Beckenham does not have sufficient potential alternative providers. Paying sufficient additional businesses (if they were available) could cost more than running the existing toilets.
Councillors will not object to closure unless you make your views known. More info will be available on www.beckenhamsociety.com and www.beckenhamtown.us or email beckenhamtoilets@aol.com
Please send objections using the above and any other reasons to csc@bromley.gov.uk
It would also help if you copy your email to Cllr Colin Smith who will make the initial decision on or after 20 January at colin.smith@bromley.gov.uk. or in writing to the Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, BR1 3UH. Say how necessary the toilets are to you and copy to beckenhamtoilets@aol.com
Copy also to members of the Council’s Environment PDS who will make the recommendation:
william@ocat.co.uk (Chairman, William Huntington-Thresher) , angela.page@bromley.gov.uk, catherine.rideout@bromley.gov.uk, kevin.brooks@bromley.gov.uk, lydia.buttinger@bromley.gov.uk, melanie.stevens@bromley.gov.uk, richard.scoates@bromley.gov.uk, samaris.huntington-thresher@bromley.gov.uk, sarah.phillips@bromley.gov.uk, terence.nathan@bromley.gov.uk.
Attend the Env PDS Committee on 20 January and The Executive on 11 February at the Civic Centre.
Copy also to the Council’s Executive (Leader) stephen.carr@bromley.gov.uk, and other Cabinet Members:
robert.evans@bromley.gov.uk, graham.arthur@bromley .gov.uk, tim.stevens@bromley.gov.uk, colin.smith@bromley.gov.uk, stephen.wells@bromley.gov.uk which will make the final decision on 11 February
and to local ward councillors: Copers Cope: michael.tickner@bromley.gov.uk, russell.mellor@bromley.gov.uk, stephenwells@bromley.gov.uk Kelsey and Eden Park: peter.dean@bromley.gov.uk, diane.smith@bromley.gov.uk, alan.collins@bromley.gov.uk,Shortlands: david.jefferys@bromley.gov.uk, mary.cooke@bromley.gov.uk, Clockhouse:vanessa.allen@bromley.gov.uk, sarah.phillips@bromley.gov.uk, ian.dunn@bromley.gov.uk