Loo closure plans 'inconvenient'

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More than a quarter of all public toilets in Gwynedd could be closed in a bid to save money.

Shorter or seasonal opening hours may be introduced at others to cut the annual £900,000 public toilet budget.

Opponents claim losing up to 25 of the 94 toilets in the holiday area meant tourists will have to travel miles to spend a penny.

The council said a low funding increase from the assembly government meant savings had to be made everywhere.

Tremadog near Porthmadog is on the list of places which could lose its facility.

"A toilet is a pretty handy thing to have, especially in an area which spends thousands of pounds on attracting tourist," said Alwyn Gruffydd, Tremadog's representative on Porthmadog Town Council.

The council has no option but to review all services we provide to residents Gwyn Morris Jones, Gwynedd council

"This area attracts walkers. It is famous as the birthplace of Laurence of Arabia, the home of town planning, and Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein lived here for a while," he added.

The seaside village of Aberdaron on the Llyn peninsula could also lose one of its two public toilets and 300 people have already signed a petition against any closure there.

Resident William Williams said the council has earmarked the wrong toilet.

"They want to close the one in the centre of the village and keep the one on the beach open.

"That's fine in summer, but not in winter. There is no way a disabled person can get to that toilet in the winter with the sea crashing over the promenade."

'Funding shortfall'

Gwyn Morris Jones, head of the council highways and municipal services, said the authority had received a lower than expected settlement from the assembly government resulting in a possible £4m to £5m funding shortfall.

"The council has no option but to review all services we provide to residents, and to deliver savings and cuts to bridge this significant shortfall."

Toilets on the closure list could be transferred to other organisations or groups, Mr Jones added.