By Gavin Mackintosh-
Councillors in Exeter are meeting to discuss the closure of 15 of Exeter’s 26 public toilets because it will leave homeless residents with nowhere to go.
The meeting is over an earlier decision made by the city council’s executive to close 15 of the 26 toilets that the city council operate. Cllr Chris Musgrave, from the Green Party is now leading a meeting to challenge the decision and examine its merits with a plan to overturn the decision
The Place Scrutiny Committee meets on Friday evening to discuss the closures, particularly in relation to the city centre Musgrave Row toilets, before making their recommendations to the executive, who will finalise the decision on Monday night.
It follows a number of questions being asked about the closure plans at last Tuesday’s full council meeting when Cllr Pete Edwards, leader of the council, presented the minutes of the executive to full council. Cllr Edwards says objects to the plans because it is based on council’s needs to save £60,000 agreed in this financial year’s budget. he said: “I will have a word with the people concerned about what they intend to concerning homeless people and toilets.”
He said the council was not prepared to change the agreed minute and decision of the executive emphasised his willingness for community groups or businesses to come forward and take on the toilets and the maintenance and the running costs, and encouraged people to do so.
He added: “If a community wants to take them over, we are quite happy for them to do so, but we cannot get away from the facts and the £2m a year savings we are having to make. Other places have no public toilets, and most people when they are out shopping, probably use the shop public toilets anyway.”
Councillors will meet on Friday, April 26 and then again when the executive meets on Monday, April 29, both at 5.30pm, for a final decision to be made. The decision to meet and try to prevent the plans because of the homeless is strange, because the homeless should not be encouraged to hang around the toilets.