A DECISION surrounding the future of public toilets in North Cornwall is due by the end of the summer.

Cornwall Council’s tender process for anyone interested in taking over the running of public toilets ends tomorrow (Friday).

Toilets at Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches in Bude, Widemouth Bay, Boscastle Gateway Building and Camel Trail Gateway, are included in the 35 facilities out for tender.

With funding for toilets ending in April 2016, the council has been seeking ‘creative ways’ to work with town and parish councils, and the business community to keep the services open by funding them in a different way.

‘Your Convenience’, the council’s large-scale tender initiative, hoped to attract bids from a variety of sources to help secure the services.

Suggestions from the council included using land near the toilets for business use such as cafés, recreational activities or holiday lets.

Almost 50 tender packs have been requested for the toilets at Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches in Bude, Widemouth Bay, Boscastle Gateway Building and Camel Trail Gateway.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “The toilets at Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches in Bude, Widemouth Bay, Boscastle Gateway Building, and Camel Trail Gateway currently remain open as usual this summer.

“We are hopeful that working with the private sector through the ‘Your Convenience’ programme will secure a commercial letting to enable the toilets to remain open after April 2016.”

Since Cornwall Council first announced cuts would be made around two years’ ago, more than 135 toilets have been taken over by town and parish councils. Meanwhile, others have been opened by businesses as ‘community toilets’.

A further five councils have recently started the process to take over public toilets in their parish, including Tintagel Parish Council.

Negotiations are currently underway for ownership of the toilets at Trevena Square in Tintagel and Trebarwith Strand.

Tintagel Parish Councillor Roger Wickett said: “It’s unthinkable that we could have a place with a high number of visitors without public toilets.

“We are a big visitor destination in Cornwall and the castle is a big attraction. You can’t expect people to come here and park up for half a day and not have access to toilet facilities.

“We took on the visitors’ centre and turned it around and we already run the toilets attached to the centre and the ones at Bossiney beach, which are being cleaned by volunteers.

“We consider ourselves to be a progressive council and we can see the need to take over some of the services, like the visitors’ centre, but the parish councillors are all volunteers so there needs to be a level playing field.

“We have expressed an interest to purchase the toilets at Trevena Square in Tintagel and at Trebarwith Strand, but negotiations are still underway and we are liaising with businesses.”

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week’s edition of the Post.