PUBLIC toilets in Salisbury that have been closed for eight months are finally set to reopen.

Salisbury City Council closed the underground toilets in the Market Place back in April after it had become a hotspot for anti-social behaviour – including arson attacks, sexual assaults and drug use.

The council at the time said the closure was needed due to the significant ongoing maintenance costs as well as safety concerns.

This move received strong backlash from residents who said it was a necessity for public toilets to be available in the Market Place – an area that sees a high amount of footfall.

The council initially submitted plans for replacement above ground facilities but these were withdrawn from the Wilshire Council website following calls for a wider consultation with local businesses.

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Councillors discussed the issue at a meeting on Monday night (November 10) where they agreed to open the toilets for night-time use on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings “as soon as practicable”.

Then from January 2026, the toilets will open with an attendant during the day on Tuesdays and Saturday market days as well as during all Salisbury City Council event days.

It has been estimated that the monthly cost to clean the toilets would be £2,300.

Future plans for the toilets include the possibility to fully refurbish the facilities at a cost of up to £250,000. This would include a CCTV system and improved accessibility, with the toilets open seven days a week.

Visitors would eventually be asked to pay 50p to use the facilities via a motion controlled entry door system. An above ground extension to the existing toilet block to add two more toilets has also been proposed.

The council considered changing the underground configuration to single unisex cubicles but this was discounted due to the “significant loss it would mean to capacity, the extra cost of this solution and the added discomfort to females on having a unisex space below ground.”

A consultation with residents was held about the issue which saw 62% of respondents identify public toilets as the number one priority.

Councillor Caroline Corbin, who sat on the toilet working group, said at the meeting: “We quickly realised that an above ground new build would not be popular nor had the capacity that the underground ones have, so compromises were made and we re-evaluated the issue.”

Delay is “insulting to tax payers”

Cllr Ed Rimmer said: “I just find it baffling that its taken nearly a year of the toilets being closed to come to the conclusion that we should reopen them again.

“There’s very few issues that parish council’s like ours can have that will have real cut through to people on the street. As we’ve seen, 62% of people say its the number one concern relating to Salisbury City Council.

“To not have prioritised this – to have taken a year of these toilets being closed – I find it insulting to tax payers in Salisbury.

“We have the second highest precept in the whole country and we’re not having basic services open. I support this because I want to get them open as soon as possible, but I just think its shameful that its taken this long.”