Public Conveniences: The Other Side Of The Story

Written by Cllr Graham Myatt on Sat 22nd Apr 2006

An all-party panel of the district council's Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee worked for over a year on a review of the public toilet provision and concerns within Malvern Hills District. The panel found that the existing state of all district conveniences was very poor and that several had a history of unacceptable behaviour.

The panel, and its parent O&S committee, agreed unanimously in a recommendation to the full council that a total of five public conveniences (3 in Malvern, one each in Tenbury and Upton) should be refurbished to meet modern standards, and that invitations for consultation and negotiation should be given to the three Town Councils and West Malvern Parish Council about the future of the remainder.

This was agreed and the recommended refurbishment programme was started and invitations issued.

West Malvern Parish council responded quickly in favour of closure and demolition of their convenience at 'The Dingle'.

After several months of no response, the Town Councils claimed that no invitations had been issued and asked for information about the conveniences.

Information was supplied by MHDC and, up until 17 January 2006, the negotiations appeared to be positive and were based broadly on proposals originating from Malvern Town Council.

On 17 January 2006, the Town Councils, supported by MHDC Conservative councillors, abruptly 'walked out' on the talks, refusing any further negotiation. They said that they demanded retention of all conveniences as a charge on district capital and revenues, despite evidence that revenue costs could be more cheaply and efficiently borne by the parishes.

The Liberal Democrat led administration was left a half-finished programme that had previously had cross-party support and the local media claiming that Lib Dems had made the issue political. In fact, Lib Dem councillors were not 'whipped' - two Lib Dems voted with the Conservatives in council debates on the matter.

At the time of writing, the Town Councils have offered to restart negotiations and the MHDC has suspended for six months any action to dispose of or demolish any of the conveniences about which there is any dispute.