COUNCILLORS in Bude are prepared to organise a ‘busload’ of protestors if Cornwall Council closes public toilets in the town.

Cornwall Council member for the area, Nigel Pearce, says he and his fellow Liberal Democrat Cornwall Cllr David Parsons would fight to keep the facility open.

His comments follow a review by Cornwall Council on how it provides a range of services, including public toilets, because of ‘increasing pressures on vital services’ — such as, protecting vulnerable children and adults.

Cornwall Council says the toilets at Crackington have already been transferred to the parish council and it is in discussion with town and parish councils regarding facilities at Bude and Boscastle.

But Bude-Stratton Town Council has said it is in no doubt that its toilets will be closed — and has even been given a date of when this will happen, March 31, 2016.

Speaking at the full council last Thursday, Cllr Bob Willingham addressed Cllr Pearce and said the town council held a closed meeting on January 27, with Cornwall Council cabinet member Cllr Joyce Duffin and Cornwall Council natural environment officer Jon James to find out what was going on with the toilets as well as what the total running costs of them are — vital information if the town council is to consider taking on the running of them.

He said: “They got asked twice during the meeting [about running costs] and refused to respond. They showed a big table of different costs but didn’t include a lot of the information they should have; they didn’t even show a figure of what the actual running costs were, so I want Bude-Stratton Town Council to write a letter of complaint to Cornwall Council about it.

“They said right at the start of the meeting in their opening statement that the toilets are closing on March 31.”

Cllr Duffin later told the Post: The Cornwall Council budget ends in April but we hope to find other ways of keeping the toilets open as we have successfully done with most other public toilets.”

Cllr Pearce said he had not been told directly by Cornwall Council that the Bude toilets would definitely close at any particular date and that the town council had been given more information on the matter than he had, but he added that he, and fellow Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Bude David Parsons, would keep fighting to keep them open.

He said: “If it takes a busload of us to go down to Truro in March with placards to protest then that’s what we’ll do.”

He said he felt there was a relatively simple solution to keeping the toilets open with regards to off-setting some of the money made from car parks into the toilets, but he added: “Cornwall Council like to make things more complicated than that, but that’s bureaucracy for you.”

Cllr Jeremy Heard added: “The Prime Minister has given a billion pounds in foreign aid, yet we’re having our toilets closed, what’s going on? It’s about time someone looked at this.”

Town mayor Cllr Lea Deely said she thought it would be a case of ‘who blinks first’ between the town council and Cornwall Council before anything was agreed between both parties.

The town council voted to send a letter of complaint to Cornwall Council with regards to the meeting with Cllr Duffin and Mr James.

• It is hoped public toilets will remain open at Trebarwith Strand when Cornwall Council’s public convenience budget is cut in April.

Tintagel Parish Council has agreed to buy, subject to contract, the toilets at Trebarwith Strand, and those at Trevena Square/Frys Garage, Tintagel. The council will form a sub-committee to discuss the proposal.

Cornwall Council said it has been ‘forced’ to review how it provides A council spokesperson said: “Cornwall Council recognises the importance of toilets being available for use by local community and visitors in Cornwall and has been working with town and parish councils, businesses and local organisations to try and find ways to keep them open in the face of massive cuts in our funding from Central Government.

“After having to find savings of £178-million since 2010, we are now faced with saving a further £198-million over the next four years.

“Despite the budget pressures we do not want to see any toilet facility close and so far we have secured the future provision of just over 150 toilets. We are continuing to work to find solutions for the toilets, which remain under the direct management of Cornwall Council, and discussions with local councils continue around devolution of public toilet facilities in their local areas.

“The annual running costs for Trevenna Square/Frys Garage are in the region of £8,200 and Trebarwith is in the region of £15,500. Cornwall Council have already agreed to address any backlog maintenance prior to the hand over.”