Issue - meetings

The attached Local Toilets Strategy was accepted and adopted.

The attached Local Toilets Strategy was accepted and adopted.

The report was presented by Cllr June Jones.

DECISION

To accept the report.

DISCUSSION

The Report was presented, highlighting that the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 places a duty on all local authorities in Wales to produce and publish a local toilets strategy for their area. She noted that the current Strategy dated back to 2019 so it needed to be upgraded.

She was pleased that there were 60 public toilets across Gwynedd and added that this was due to the support received through the Partnerships Scheme. She noted that the Scheme was going well, thanks to financial support from community and town councils. The member drew attention to the community toilets, where businesses within the county received a grant that enabled them to open their toilets for public use. 

The financial challenge of maintaining the public toilets was reiterated, but it was confirmed that grants had been received to improve this provision. She referred to the examples in the report of this work being underway, drawing particular attention to the work that was currently being carried out in Abersoch and Barmouth.

She talked about the Changing Places provision that was available in the county, for meeting the needs of those with multiple learning disabilities. She stated that the stock of public toilets in Gwynedd was old and therefore challenging to adapt without significant financial investment. She raised the issue of these buildings needing to be staffed, so it was intended to work with other departments to discuss further steps.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       The department was thanked for considering the Age Friendly aspect in the report, allowing the input of other departments into the plan in order to develop other aspects of this plan.

·       It was questioned whether smaller toilets and sinks for children could be created, going forward. It was explained that there had been discussions about this, and that adapting some toilets for children would form part of the future strategy.

·       Reference was made to the Changing Places provision, noting that it was great to see such a provision in the county. It was reiterated that the premises where these toilets were based needed to be staffed, so it was proposed to work with other departments to be able to create more of these toilets in Gwynedd.

·       It was noted that the Welsh Government had carried out a consultation to obtain information on what people wanted to see in Changing Places toilets.

The role of businesses in the strategy was mentioned, explaining that there were currently 41 community toilets in Gwynedd receiving a grant to enable the facilities to be used by the public. The members were assured that the Council carried out assessments of these toilets.