The Discovery of Teesdale - Michael D. C. Rudd
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Town centre public toilets may finally be reopened
Jun 9, 2009
BARNARD Castle’s public toilets may be reopened after the new unitary council agreed to consider the proposal.
The toilets, in Market Place, were closed when Teesdale District Council estimated that it would cost £25,000 to upgrade them.
The closure caused outrage in the town and residents have made
repeated calls for the facility to be
reopened.
Despite the pleas, the district council considered selling the toilets before the authority was scrapped.
Durham County Council, which is now responsible for the toilets, is looking at the issue after Cllrs Richard Bell and Barbara Harrison stepped in.
Cllr Bell said: “The council is carrying out a condition survey on the toilets and then there will be discussions to look at reopening the building.
“An officer from Durham County Council who looked at the toilets was surprised that they are still in quite a good condition.
“There is still a demand for the toilets and reopening them is a possibility.”
The district council originally planned to close the lavatories in Butterknowle, Staindrop, Eggleston, Hamsterley and Etherley, as well as in Barnard Castle.
But following discussions with the parish councils, it was agreed that the facilities should be retained in the villages but that Barnard Castle's toilets would still have to go.
It has been claimed that the estimated £25,000 repair bill for the town’s loos was “plucked out of the air” and evidence of the costs involved were never revealed.
Documents have now come to light that reveal Teesdale District Council was told by consultants in 2005 that the toilets were in a good condition, although they could deteriorate unless minor roof damage was fixed.
Town councillor Newton Wood has said those repairs were not completed and has accused the former council of being involved in a “conspiracy” to ensure the facility was closed.
Cllr Wood said: “No one knows where they got that £25,000 figure from. The toilets were in a good condition in 2005, but they needed a little work, which would cost an insignificant amount.
“Nothing was ever done about that and it was never discussed – there was a conspiracy to let the toilets deteriorate so they could be shut.”