12 November 2021
New Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Leader, Councillor Boughton, was joined by Tonbridge councillors Vivian Branson, Mark Davis, Dennis King, James Lark, Pam Bates Georgina Thomas and Frixos Tombolis, who all supported a measure that will mean every Tonbridge household is going to pay a further £4 to maintain public conveniences for those who come to our town to spend their money and assist our local economy.
The anomaly is that, under the new arrangements, Hildenborough residents will now be paying £5.49 less than residents in North Tonbridge, who do not benefit from a single toilet, yet every one of their Conservative Councillors has voted for them to see their annual bill increased. All four LibDem and Green Councillors voted against these measures.
Green Party Councillors fundamentally oppose the policy of transferring the cost of toilets to the immediate communities. We realise that toilets are predominantly there for the comfort of visitors and this is also a matter of equality for those with medical conditions and additionally there are issues regarding some faiths and the provision of accessible facilities. All our residents benefit from public conveniences so every council tax payer should contribute unless we believe that some residents never leave their villages.
Previously, parish councils have been given the ultimatum by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council that they take on the management of the toilets in their parishes or they would be shut down. Some villages and towns have seen their toilets closed to the dismay of regular visitors anticipating a comfort break on arrival.
West Malling has seen its toilets closed, the existing facilities will be reopened until April, but the funding will be coming from a County Councillor's grant, as the Borough Council refused to foot the bill. But at least the facility will be provided until a suitable alternative is found.
Is this the way that a responsible council should treat its communities? Cllr Nick Stapleton commented: “There have been strong feelings in West Malling since the Borough Council closed the public toilets. The Farmers' Market has been impacted, as well as trade in the shops. Some residents have felt unable to go to the High Street because of a lack of facilities. Residents have also had to put up with urinating on King Street. Not to mention that there was no public consultation. The existing toilets should be reopened until the Borough Council agree a new solution for the town. A newer, better-located facility should be opened, allowing for the market town to continue to thrive.”
The initial changes to the way that toilets are paid for were made in order to save £70,000 a year after a decade of cuts in funding by the Conservative Government and the Council’s inability to adapt its business model in the way that most other councils have done.
As providing toilets are not a statutory function, councils can close them at will as we have witnessed already across the town where toilets have already been closed at The Ridgeway, The Angel Centre and Lamberts Yard by our failing Council.
Green Cllr Mark Hood said: “The most laughable thing about this whole policy is that some toilets are labelled strategic facilities, those at Leybourne Lakes and Haysden Country Park, which remain paid for by all residents, so where is the logic? Surely every toilet is ‘strategic’ when you desperately need one. The truth is that under, the Conservatives, our Borough is going backwards. More toilets are closing every year as we pay more to get less in return. With the Financial Director conceding that the Borough Council’s finances are “shot to pieces”, we fear even more cuts in future.”
As voters prepare to choose their new Councillors in West Malling and Leybourne, Kings Hill and Castle Ward, they need to ask themselves why they are increasingly paying more to get less.
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