Councillors defend decision to close public toilets in Newmarket High Street

A council has defended its decision to close public toilets after criticism from residents.

The Victorian conveniences next to Newmarket’s memorial hall were due to have been officially closed by the town council on April 1 but at a meeting on Monday councillors were informed they had to be shut a few days before that as they had once again become blocked because of misuse.

In a report to councillors deputy town clerk Naomi Alecock said: “The blockage was cleared by Anglian Water and our plumber, however the pipes have now partially collapsed so the toilets are unable to be used for our events.”

Up until last month the toilets, which date back to the turn of the 20th century, were open in conjunction with the opening hours of the memorial hall gardens and its children’s play area from 10am to 4.30pm and in the summer months until around 8pm.

But councillors were warned that because of misuse and vandalism they were becoming increasingly costly for the town council to repair and for its staff to keep clean.

At Monday’s meeting town clerk Cathy Whitaker said before the planned closure date there had been what she called a deluge of people misusing the toilets.

“It’s a real shame that a few people ruin it for everyone,” she said. And she pointed out the town did have new public conveniences in The Guineas car park.

After the meeting the council released a statement.

"Newmarket Town Council has had to make the unfortunate decision to close the public conveniences in the High Street next to the memorial hall as the Victorian pipework has partially collapsed due to prolonged misuse and the toilets are no longer fit for purpose,” it said.

“We understand that this is not an ideal situation, but the decision to close for the time being has been forced upon us by circumstances.

“Whilst the provision of public conveniences is a power of town and parish councils, not a duty to provide, the town council is looking at options for refurbishment or provision of alternative facilities; however this is likely to be extremely costly and there is no budget for this currently.

“In the meantime we will be providing temporary toilets for our event days in the memorial hall gardens.”

One resident who objected to the closure was Gladys Masters who, in a letter to the Newmarket Journal, said: “I think the toilets should be put inside the gardens which have a fence all around them. Where are the children supposed to go when the nearest toilets are in The Guineas?”