TOILETS at Central Car Park in Salisbury could soon reopen after the city council agreed to continue negotiations to acquire the freehold or a similar arrangement from Wiltshire Council.
The toilets closed at the end of March, drawing wide-spread criticism from residents who were also faced with the closure of the Market Place facilities.
The toilet block is currently owned by Wiltshire Council, and Salisbury City Council has now agreed to continue negotiations with the local authority to acquire the freehold, or similar arrangement, on “acceptable terms” in a bid to reopen them.
A decision came after councillors discussed the issue at a meeting of the full council yesterday (September 15).
The Central Car Park toilets include a disabled toilet, baby changing facilities and have nearby blue badge parking – something the alternatives do not provide
Leader of Salisbury City Councill, cllr Sam Charleston said the council has made “very significant progress” in bringing the toilets back under city council control.
“[It has been] more or less agreed with some ironing out of the details that we will be taking back the toilet building via an asset transfer from Wiltshire Council,” he said.
“At that point it will come back into the city council’s ownership and we will be able to reopen the toilets. That is something that is within our power.”
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A Salisbury City Council spokesperson said that no council officer has stepped foot into the toilet block since it was taken over by Wiltshire Council.
An assessment of the state of the toilets will be made once they have been handed back over, but they could in theory be opened as soon as the asset transfer is carried out.
The city council will have to examine the state of the facilities before making a decision however.
A council officer said: “The key thing this council is going to have to consider, even if we get given this in the next three to five months, is that there is no budget allocated for cleaning and maintenance, so that’s where that full business case is going to be really important to help council make sure there is a budget in place.”
When asked if Wiltshire Council would provide some financial assistance to help tide the city council over if the first few months of opening, councillors were told the “deal may be dead” if this request was made, as it is “not something Wiltshire Council would entertain.”
Cllr Taylor said: “I’ve been banging on about these toilets for months now. At the last full council meeting, I raised the topic again and a number of people said discussions were occurring with Wiltshire Council.
“That may or may not have been the case at a political level, but at officer level it wasn’t occurring at all. When I started digging, there was no negotiation or discussion and more alarmingly, Wiltshire Council decided we were no longer interested and handed it over to be marketed to a third party which strikes me as bonkers.”
Cllr Jeremy Nettle said it is “very disappointing” that as Christmas is around the corner that the toilets are unlikely to reopen in time for when a large number of visitors will come to the city.
“I would urge any discussion if possible to get these toilets opened as soon as possible,” he added.
Salisbury City Council will be presented with an agreement, complete with a business case to establish the running costs, which councillors will eventually vote on.
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