Amongst the proposals being considered by the Tory run New Forest District Council is to transfer the ownership and responsibility for public toilets onto the Town and Parish Councils.

For me, this is just another classic example of how desperate things are in local government. Public toilets are an absolute necessity. The future of them should not rely on a willingness on the part of Town & Parish Councils to take on the burden of running them.

It is also an example of a “saving” that isn’t really a saving at all… it just makes the District Council balance sheet look better. The more informed of us realise that if a Town Council were to take on the burden, they would then raise the council tax precept to pay for it.

One way or the other, public toilets have to be paid for. In the case of Totton, much better that the District Council (the one that charges for car parking) provides the service rather than the Lib Dem Town Council that supports local traders by not charging.