PLANS for a new £175,000 state-of-the-art public convenience in Petersfield have been given the go-ahead by East Hampshire district councillors. Members of the cabinet last week agreed to press ahead with the proposal for a new, attended public convenience in the central car park. They were told that the main revenue costs of the proposals were staffing. In order to provide a fully-attended facility, the council would need to employ three attendants working on a rota to cover the proposed 60 opening hours every week. "A 20p charge applied to the new unisex toilets could generate income in the order of £40,000 a year based on the current level of usage," it was reported. "In addition, an estimated saving of £15,000 a year is anticipated due to the routine cleaning duties being transferred from the present cleaning contractor to the directly employed attendants." The current facilities scored badly during the "best value" user survey and during consultation with the central area community committee, councillors were told. "Overall, the impression was that the facility was well below accepted standards of both residents and visitors. The present accessible toilet also does not comply fully with the new Disability Discrimination Act 2004." The proposals before the cabinet last week included a completely redesigned facility offering a modern, clean and high-quality service to users, claimed the report adding: "hopefully it will send a strong message to local residents and visitors to the town that the council takes a pride in providing this most basic of public service."
