News

Council lacks funds to maintain its last three public toilets as transfer delayed

08 Sep 2026 4 minute read

The transfer of Flintshire’s last three public toilets in Mold, Holywell and Talacre (pictured) to community council ownership needs to be completed soon as the county council has not got enough money

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A county’s last three public toilets have still not been transferred out of council ownership, despite the authority not having enough money set aside to maintain them.

According to an interim progress report on Flintshire’s Local Toilet Strategy, work to transfer the responsibility for the toilets – in Mold, Holywell and Talacre – to local town and community councils has still not been completed seven months after Flintshire County Council decided to offload them.

The report – which will go before Flintshire’s Environment & Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, September 8 also reveals that the authority has not reserved enough money to maintain the toilets this year.

The cost of operating the three sites runs to an estimated £101,000, but there is only £72,000 identified within the council’s budget for public toilets in 2026/27 – making the completion of the Community Asset Transfers an urgent concern.

Last year the authority did secure £252,000 to fund infrastructure repairs to upgrade and modernise the toilets ahead of the asset transfer.

But until that is completed, the county will continue to foot the bill.

“The council is operating within a challenging financial and operational environment,” said the interim report. “Despite these pressures, access to essential facilities has been maintained and the council has taken important steps toward a more sustainable and resilient model of provision.

“A key feature of this period has been the continued operation and future planning for the council’s three remaining standalone public conveniences in Mold, Holywell and Talacre.

“Through consultation and member decision-making, they have been retained and funding has been identified to improve their condition and accessibility.”

As it looks to move away from the provision of public toilets, Flintshire County Council has been working to bring on board partners in towns and villages such as shops and cafes who can open up their facilities to the public.

These are currently being plotted on digital maps to allow people to find them using their smartphone’s navigation app.

“The council has continued to strengthen its network-based approach, recognising that access to toilets is delivered through a wider system that includes public buildings and privately operated facilities,” said the report.

“Our role is to ensure that this network is effective, visible and aligned with need, while maintaining a small number of strategically important public conveniences in key locations. Progress continues to be made in improving visibility of this network and aligning provision more closely to user needs.

“A number of ongoing challenges remain, including funding constraints, the condition of existing assets and issues relating to accessibility and geographic coverage. The council has responded by focusing investment on key locations, exploring partnership opportunities and promoting more sustainable delivery models.”

While the report does acknowledge the risk to the last three existing public toilets in the county if the asset transfer drags on, officers remain confident the public/private network of toilets it is building will be able to reliably accommodate visitors’ needs into the future.

“The ongoing impact of budget reductions will continue to impose a downward pressure on revenue budgets,” said the report.

“When planning the future provision of local toilets, we have to consider the current financial constraints on the service area as well as ongoing future budget reduction.

“The council has demonstrated a clear and consistent commitment to delivering its strategic objectives. The next phase will focus on implementing planned improvements and building the partnerships necessary to sustain provision into the future.

“The overall direction remains unchanged: to support a modern, accessible and sustainable network of toilet facilities that meets the needs of Flintshire’s communities.”

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