Council blasted after vandals damage public toilets before busiest weekend of the year

A Member of the Senedd has criticised a council for a “lack of public toilet provision” after vandals damaged pay-to-use public conveniences in a popular seaside town ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders has slammed Conwy County Council after toilets on Llandudno’s West Shore had their locks damaged on the eve of thousands of visitors arriving for the busiest weekend of the year.

Conwy is currently in the process of closing public toilets across the county and exploring transferring their management to town councils to cut costs.

But Mrs Finch-Saunders has slammed the county council and its leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey.

‘Failing’

“This weekend, we welcome thousands of visitors and residents to Llandudno for the wonderful Victorian Extravaganza,” she said.

“Our town is in pristine order, and the hospitality and retailers are also very dependent on the footfall this will bring.

“How disappointing, however, that once again our local authority is failing our town with the immense shortage of public toilet provision that extends across the whole of Aberconwy.

“So many emails daily are received about this basic lack of toilet provision, and I believe it is a fundamental right to have toilet facilities and ones that are clean and easy to access for everybody.

“Certainly, other seaside resorts in the UK and across Wales really support the tourism trade by having really excellent facilities.

“The disabled public conveniences in West Shore have been left closed for many years, and there is absolutely no sign of any improvement and to learn that a number of our public conveniences will be closed this weekend is simply not acceptable.”

Council tax

Mrs Finch-Saunders then pointed to Conwy raising council tax by nearly 10% whilst services have been slashed by 10% – with even schools facing 5% cuts.

The Aberconwy MS added: “We must remember, of course, that this local authority over the past two years have imposed some of the highest council tax increases across Wales, and yet we are still seeing constant service withdrawals.

“Little wonder that people feel that some politicians are full of so many empty promises. I would urge the council leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey to intervene immediately and ensure there is sufficient toilet provision in Llandudno, not just for this weekend but indeed for the whole summer season ahead.”

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council: “The disabled facility and two of the general toilets at West Shore are currently out of order because of vandalism. One general toilet remains open to use.

“These facilities see a high level of vandalism and misuse, which means we have to regularly close them for public safety and to repair them. We share the frustration that these facilities are vandalised regularly and put out of use.”