Politicians want public toilets to open for longer

Politicians want public toilets to open for longer

25 April 2012 - by David Telford

CALLS have been issued for public toilets in Newcastle to be open for longer.

A number of local politicians want Down Council to make money available to extend the opening hours to cater for the needs of local people and visitors to the town.

The issue was raised at Monday night’s monthly meeting of the local authority by Newcastle councillors Carmel O’Boyle and Patrick Clarke when it was agreed to refer the matter to the local authority’s Environment Committee for further discussion and to examine the cost implications.

Councillors O’Boyle and Clarke want the resort’s public toilets open until 9pm between April and June. They currently close at 6pm at this time of year, with late night opening until 10pm only introduced during July and August.

The local politicians argue that given the increase in the number of visitors to Newcastle during the clearer evenings, public toilets should remain open for longer, including over the traditionally busy Easter holiday period.

Councillor O’Boyle wanted agreement on Monday night to review the opening hours until 9pm so this can happen as soon as possible.

She added: “Down Council can easily approve spending on various other projects but is now referring this matter back to the Environment Committee in order to assess how much it will cost to extend the opening hours of public toilets in our tourist town of Newcastle from 6pm to 9pm.”

Councillor Clarke said public toilet opening hours should be extended when the clocks go forward and revealed when he raised concerns with council officers about public toilets in Newcastle not being open in the evening over Easter, the issue was addressed.

He continued: “Everything Down Council does has a cost implication. When I contacted council officers before Easter, the Newcastle public toilets were opened later.

Councillor Willie Clarke said “speed is of the essence” in making a decision about extending the opening hours of the public toilets in Newcastle on the eve of the busy tourist season.

Councillor Eamonn O’Neill said every decision the council takes has an impact on the rates and needs to be “worked out and costed” so the local authority has the full picture about doing something which may cause problems further down the line.