The Service Improvement & Project Manager introduced the report which set out the details of the consultation, the responses and the formulation of the recommendations.

The Chair thanked the officer for the wide range of opportunities to speak with the public and the Chairs of the Area Committees for helping to promote responding to the consultation.

The Chair invited Members to make comments and ask questions, and these included:

·         Welcomed the report which was very good;

·         concerned with the plans for the Library car park facility upgrade if the Forum, Sittingbourne facilities were also going to be closed;

·         in theory the Community Toilet Scheme sounded like a good idea, but concerned about giving up the Council’s resources for potentially nothing;

·         fully accepted that some needed to be closed; and

·         clarification sought as to whether Town/Parish Councils would charge for the facilities, once they were transferred.

Officers responded to some of the points raised:  upgrades to the Library car park facilities were planned to be funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and investigation on what was needed had already started, in terms of the Community Toilet Scheme, the money they would receive through subsidies was much less than it would cost the Council to run the toilets and there would be criteria they would need to meet; toilets transferred to parish or town councils would not be charged for their use as agreed at the last meeting; and the timings of the closure of the Forum and Library car park facilities would be taken into consideration so they were not closed at the same time.  The Library toilet could cope with the increased capacity and walls would not be made bigger, but improvements would improve the resilience of the facility, resulting in less downtime and bring in further energy and cost savings.

Councillor Charles Gibson moved the following amendment to Recommendation (4):  That the Community Toilet Scheme be expanded so that it was borough-wide.  The Head of Environment and Leisure did suggest that any widening of the scheme would erode future savings and this would need to be considered in the budget proposals.

The amendments was seconded by Councillor Wooster and on being put to the vote agreed.

Further comments included:

·         Considered it ‘wild’ that these facilities were non-statutory;

·         closure of the facilities would have a detrimental impact on lots of people with long-term illnesses, pregnant people and the elderly;

·         the Community Toilet Scheme was a positive initiative where they were reliable and consistent;

·         needed to consider gender inequality, especially women, accessibility and homeless people accessing a private business; and

·         considered the facilities outlined in recommendation (2) should be offered a transfer.

Councillor Jayes moved the following motion:  That baby changing facilities be installed in all toilet facilities, space allowing.  This was seconded by Councillor Sarah Stephen.

·         Acknowledged that the proposal was a good idea, but concerns with how it would be funded;

·         these would need to be installed in both male and female toilets which would increase the cost;

·         suggested the proposal be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee for capital budget;

·         this should not be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee;

·         these were difficult decisions, the Council could not be saying some facilities were closing, whilst adding more spend; and

·         the Council was supposed to be saving money.

On being put to the vote the motion was lost.

A visiting Ward Member was invited to speak and he raised the following points:  concerned over the potential loss of the Milton Regis facilities; considered it would cost more to renovate the Library facilities in Sittingbourne than it would to keep the Milton Regis facilities open; and concerned with what would happen to the building, once the facility had closed.

Another Ward Member raised the following points:  considered the second question in the consultation was irrelevant with regard to the White House, Minster toilets as they have been shut for months; and it was important that this type of facility was open all year round for walkers and cyclists and during the summer months when there were a lot of tourists.

The Head of Environment and Leisure referred to the second question of the consultation and said that this had been a compulsory question, but was then removed.  However, none of the recommendations were made solely on a single question in the consultation.  The ones proposed had low usage (even before temporary closure), were in poor condition and were in close proximity to other sites.

Councillor  Hannah Perkin moved the following motion:  That the Chair of the Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee writes to the Secretary of State to advocate public conveniences being a statutory obligation.  This was seconded by Councillor Jayes and on being put to the vote was agreed.

Councillor Harrison proposed the recommendations and these were seconded by Councillor Gibson.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 3.1.19(2) a recorded vote was taken on the recommendations and voting was as follows:

For: Councillors Bowen, Cheesman, C Gibson, Harrison, Hunt, Jackson, Marchington, P Stephen and Wooster.  Total equals 9.

Against:  Councillors Jayes, Perkin, Mishchuk, S Stephen and Thompson  Total equals 5.

Abstain:  Councillor Wooster.  Total equals 1.

Recommendations:

(1)      To note the outcomes of the consultation exercise, as shown in Appendix I.

(2)      To close three public conveniences from 01 April 2026;

1.    Milton Regis High Street

2.    The Forum, Sittingbourne

3.    The White House, Minster

(3)      a) To offer to transfer seven public conveniences to Town and Parish Councils or other appropriate local organisations;

a.    Oare Gunpowder Works Visitors Centre

b.    Central Car Park, Faversham

c.    Rose Street, Sheerness

d.    Beachfields, Sheerness

e.    Leysdown Beach Services

f.     The Spinney, Leysdown

g.    Queenborough Park

b) To include these toilets for a 12-month period to the contract whilst negotiations continue with the above Town/ Parish councils. Should the transfers not occur within this timeframe, options for these public conveniences will come back to this committee in order to achieve the budget requirements as detailed in 2.21 and 2.22.

(4)      To aim to introduce a Community Toilet Scheme in the areas impacted by the closure and then borough-wide in a timely manner.

(5)      To authorise officers to undertake a tender process for the opening, cleansing and maintenance of the remaining facilities, considering the matters raised in 2.27 – 2.30.

(6)      That the Chair of the Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee writes to the Secretary of State to advocate public conveniences being a statutory obligation.

The following recommendation (set out as Recommendation (6) in the report) fell as it was no longer relevant:

(was 6) Should the recommendations not be approved and as such the savings not achieved, committee are asked to identify where else savings could be made within the scope of this committee.