Too expensive to spend a penny? Extended summer opening hours for seaside public toilets could be delayed due to cost concerns
Extended opening hours for seaside public toilets could be delayed – because of fears spending a penny might cost too much.
Moves to have longer summer opening hours at conveniences located in tourist hotspots on the Co Down coast were hoped to come into force this year.
But officials at Ards and North Down Council have suggested delaying the measures until 2027, as keeping facilities open later into the evening could mean bringing in third-party contractors at the cost of a five-figure sum.
Extended opening hours have been put forward for 11 locations across the council district, several of which are in Bangor but also involves public toilets in Donaghadee, Millisle, Groomsport and other towns and villages popular with sun-seeking day-trippers.
Currently the conveniences are locked for the night between 6pm and 7pm, though the council is this week to consider changing its policies so they shut at 9pm in summer.
But officials say there could be a cost problem with later lock-ups, as they’d either have to get their own staff to do it – which would mean renegotiating contracts, as employees would have to work overtime or change shift patterns – or bring in an outside firm to handle the duties, which it’s estimated could cost around £20,000 per season.
Third-party contractors would, states a council report, “only deal with late locking up, and the current in-house team would continue to be required to inspect, service and clean the identified facilities at the normal lock-up time in advance”.
The report adds that spending £20,000 on an outside firm “is likely to be the most effective method of extending opening hours”.
Politicians are to vote on whether or not to try extended opening hours this summer, which it’s stated would depend on whether or not the council can scrounge up the cash from its budget during the year, or delay the move until 2027.
The council owns 26 public toilets in total, but under current plans only 11 stated to be in “high summer footfall areas” such as beaches, promenades and piers would get extended opening hours.
The report notes that several other councils in Northern Ireland already keep their conveniences open later in the summer, particularly facilities in key tourist areas.