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Decision time on future of toilets in town centre

Tess de la MareWest of England
News imageFrome Town Council A courtyard lined by a row of toilet doors. Frome Town Council
The Market Yard toilets have been closed since September

Residents are being asked to help decide the future of a block of toilets in a town centre.

The public toilets at Market Yard in Frome have been shut since last September as Somerset Council looked for ways to save money.

Frome Town Council is now hoping to take on the site under a long lease and is considering a number of different options for its future.

Locals are being asked to decide if the existing toilets should be refurbished, a new block built, or if more hospitality venues should join a scheme allowing use of their facilities.

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Frome town councillor Nick Dove said: "The facilities are reaching the end of their life – they were becoming blocked or faulty even with normal use, and replacement parts were costly and hard to find."

Only the accessible toilets remain, with able-bodied people asked to use the facilities at nearby events space Cheese and Grain.

The town council now wants people to take a survey on the MyFrome website to decide the future of the site.

Options under consideration are:

  • Refurbishment of existing toilets
  • A new purpose-built toilet facility
  • A reimagined site with new toilets and other amenities such as visitor information
  • Expanding the "You're Welcome" scheme, that allows people to use toilets in cafes, pubs and shops with no obligation to spend any money

The council also wants to hear from people who use the accessible toilets about plans from switching from using a radar key, which anyone can purchase, to a key code to prevent misuse of the facilities.

A keypad would require users to call a phone number to get the access code, which would change regularly.

Nearby venues such as Discover Frome in the library could also provide the code, but outside of venue opening times it would require users having a phone.

Councillor Mark Dorrington said: "It's really important that we hear from those who use (the facility), to help us understand their needs and preferences."

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