Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Llanddowror and Llanmiloe Community Council have found a novel use for Llanddowror’s public toilets – they’re turning them in to a new facility for the community. The Community Council have agreed to take over the public conveniences in the village under Carmarthenshire County Council’s Transfer of Assets Scheme and will be extending part of the building to include a meeting room and small kitchen area. Two of the existing public conveniences will be refurbished and will remain open to the public. The new community space will be available to all residents in Llanddowror for individual or group meetings such as bingo, computer classes, yoga, art exhibitions and local history demonstrations, as suggested by residents in the public engagement exercise recently conducted. The venue will also be used as a meeting place for Llanddowror Village Sports Association, Community Council and Llanddowror flood response group with hire of the venue extended to the wider community. It is hoped ...

Carmarthenshire toilets have cleaned up in the Loo of the Year Awards. The council’s superloos in Carmarthen (two), Llanelli, Ammanford, St Clears, Llandeilo, Laugharne and Llandovery have been awarded a 5* grading (the highest possible) in what is known as the Oscars of the toilet world. Managed on behalf of the council by Danfo, the superloos have individual access cubicles, vandal proofing, hand-washing facilities in each cubicle along with hot air dryers, baby changing facilities and disabled access. There are also no public areas to discourage anti-social behaviour. Each costs 20p to use to cover all maintenance and cleaning costs. The annual Loo of the Year Awards is run by the British Toilet Association and the facilities are assessed against over 100 judging criteria including signage and décor, fixtures and fittings and overall standards of cleanliness and management. Carmarthenshire County Council has also been recognised in the ‘2011 Local Authority Public Toilet Entr...

BBC News - Swansea University puts up toilet instruction posters Posters have gone up around a university campus instructing students on how to use the toilet properly. Swansea University says it has produced them to help address cultural differences. The posters include images showing students what they should and should not do. Some students have called them ridiculous but others say they are a good idea to help keep the toilets clean and hygienic.

Public toilets in Llansteffan, Ferryside, Pendine, Burry Port and Cenarth are to remain under the control of the county council. The remaining 28 grade two facilities will again be offered to town and community councils to take over. The Executive Board has decided to revise the offer to include a £1,000 one-off payment (an increase from the initial £500 offered) and the council will also pay the business rates. Executive Board Member for the Environment Cllr Philip Hughes said: “We first wrote to the town and community councils in September last year to ask if they would consider taking over the responsibility for public conveniences. Of the 25, two were prepared to take over the responsibility providing we carried out some upgrading works/repairs and a further five said they would consider it. “Some of the responses we had said that they would consider it, but that they felt the payment was too low or they could not afford the business rates. We have therefore decided to revise our o...

A letter has been sent to some town and community councils in Carmarthenshire asking if they would like to take over the public toilets in their areas. It follows a review of public conveniences in Carmarthenshire carried out by a Task and Finish Group from the county council's Environment Scrutiny Committee. The group looked at a range of options for future provision and concluded that the cost of operating 33 grade 2 public facilities – currently £226,000 a year – was not sustainable. The move – which was backed by the council’s Executive Board - will help to improve the quality of the service and provide it in a more cost-effective way. Town and community councils which agree to take over facilities will be given a one-off payment of £500 to assist with any minor upgrades. Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Over the last 10 years there has been an increasing trend for local communities to take on a greater responsibility for the delivery of local services, suc...

Businesses in Carmarthenshire are benefiting from a grant scheme which encourages them to open up their toilets to the public. Six businesses throughout the county are taking part in the council’s Community Toilet Scheme. The Welsh Assembly Government-funded scheme aims to improve the provision of safe, hygienic and accessible toilet facilities. It enables local businesses such as pubs, restaurants and shops, to work with the council to make their toilets available to the public. Grants of up to £500 are available for businesses which take part in the scheme to cover additional maintenance costs. Homebase in Parc Pemberton, Llanelli; Tesco, B&Q and BHS in Parc Trostre, Llanelli; the Co-op supermarket Cross Hands and Romino’s café in Llanybydder are participating in the scheme. BHS store manager Alun Alder praised the scheme adding that it had helped to increase footfall at the store. Businesses taking part in the Community Toilet Scheme display window stickers showing male, female ...

Councillors in Carmarthenshire have agreed to ask town and community councils if they would like to take over public toilets in their areas. A Task and Finish Group was set up by the committee to carry out a review of public conveniences in Carmarthenshire. A range of options for future provision were looked at as the group concluded that the cost of operating 33 grade 2 public facilities – currently £226,000 a year – was not sustainable. The Environment Scrutiny Committee has agreed to recommend transferring the toilets to town and community councils. Chairman Councillor Jim Jones told members that the Task and Finish Group believed that this would improve the quality of the service and provide it in a more cost-effective way. He said: “Over the last 10 years there has been an increasing trend for local communities to take on a greater responsibility for the delivery of local services, such as the provision of public toilets. This has been based on the principle that the ownership and...

Town and community councils in Carmarthenshire could be asked if they would like to take over the public toilets in their areas. A Task and Finish Group has been carrying out a review of public conveniences in Carmarthenshire. There are currently 33 grade 2 public toilets in the county operated by the council’s Street Scene division as well as nine Superloos, managed on behalf of the authority by Danfo. Although the provision of public conveniences is one of the council’s longest-established municipal services in existence, it does not have a statutory obligation to provide the service. Carmarthenshire County Council is likely to have to make efficiency savings of approximately £30million over the next three years. As a result the Task and Finish Group has concluded that the cost of operating the grade 2 public facilities – currently £226,000 a year – is not sustainable and has been investigating a range of options for future provision. The group’s preferred option would be to transfer...

A Task and Finish Group has been set up to investigate the options for the future provision of public toilets in Carmarthenshire. There are currently 33 public toilets in the county operated by the Street Scene division as well as nine Superloos, managed on behalf of the council by Danfo. Various options are being considered by the group including the closure of some facilities, for example, where toilets are subject to continued vandalism or anti-social behaviour or where there are other public toilets nearby. Another option being looked at is to transfer the facilities to town and community councils to manage. The group is made up of members of the Environment Scrutiny Committee with cross-party representation including the chair Councillor Jim Jones, the vice-chair Councillor Peter Cooper, Councillor Tom Theophilus, Councillor David Jenkins and Councillor Malcolm Davies. Councillor Jones said: “We are looking at various issues such as budget, location and condition of facilities, as...