'No immediate solution' to lack of town centre public toilets in Scarborough
There is no immediate solution to the lack of public toilets in Scarborough, a senior councillor has said.
It comes as residents said that a lack of toilet facilities in the town centre is putting people off visiting the high street and negatively impacting local businesses,
In March, North Yorkshire Council said it had not been able to convince any local businesses to work with it to provide a public bathroom.
One of the issues posed by the installation of temporary toilets is that businesses do not want them located outside their premises, council bosses said.
Speaking at a full meeting of the authority, Cllr Rich Maw said: “I recently raised concerns regarding the loss of public toilet provision in Scarborough town centre following the closure of the Brunswick Centre, which has left a significant gap, affecting residents, visitors, and local businesses.
“The issue is already having a clear impact on accessibility and town centre footfall, and its unsustainably as the busy holiday season approaches.”
The independent councillor called on council bosses to offer a “specific timescale” for delivering temporary provision in the town and to give “a clear commitment that facilities will be in place as a matter of urgency, rather than the continuing drift into the main tourist season”.
“Can they also confirm whether they consider the current level of provision within Scarborough town centre to be acceptable in the meantime,” Cllr Maw added.
Cllr Richard Foster, executive member for managing the environment, said: “This is definitely an issue for Scarborough and I do appreciate that.
“We continue to look at how we can provide toilets while the Brunswick Centre remains closed.
"I think there’s been some positive news around the Brunswick Centre, and it might be moving forward finally.
“In the meantime, we continue to look at alternative provision and we’re still looking for partners within the town that are large enough that we can give them money so we can use their facilities in that area.”
Speaking at the full meeting on Wednesday, May 20, he added: “Alongside that, the council is still looking at putting some short-term toilets in that area.
"It’s just where to site them, because if you’re a business, you don’t really want a set of public toilets outside.
“We continue to work on it because it’s an issue that won’t go away.”