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Toilet system feels the strain




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The sheer number of people using Newark’s only town-centre public toilets could have contributed to drainage problems that are keeping them shut.

The toilets in The Buttermarket have been closed for just over two weeks and it is not known when they will re-open.

The centre manager, Mr Martin Rendle, said usage of the toilets had risen astronomically since the closure of those in St Mark’s Place.

Usage is so great at The Buttermarket that toilet seats are being replaced weekly.

Mr Rendle said: “The facilities here were designed to look after the needs of the shoppers to the centre, not the entire local and visiting population of Newark.

“I am sure the sheer volume of footfall to the facilities has contributed to the fault in some way or another.

“I couldn’t say for sure if that is the case and there is no evidence to prove this, however, the increase in usage has gone up astronomically since the St Mark’s closure and therefore can’t help the situation.”

The problem is that the drainage system leading to the main sewer on Middlegate has collapsed.

“There is currently no date as of yet for repair work to go ahead. However, we realise that as we are currently the only private operator offering a free toilet facility in the immediate vicinity of the central area to the town, we are doing our utmost to rectify this as soon as possible,” Mr Rendle said.

“The work will be undertaken on a Sunday in order not to cause too much disruption.”

Shoppers have been relying on The Buttermarket, since the closure of the St Mark’s Place toilets by the precinct’s owners, Oakgate Group, more than a year ago.

Mr Rendle said the number of people using the facilities in The Buttermarket meant they were planning to install heavy duty toilet seats designed for prisons.

“I would like to know if the district council is going to continue to lean upon private enterprises to offer these desperately needed facilities for them,” Mr Rendle said.

“Maybe the district council would like to assist in the running costs of the facilities we currently provide?”

He said they were working with Not-tinghamshire County Council highways department to obtain licences needed to dig up the road on Middlegate. Mr Rendle said he would make shoppers aware when a date had been agreed.

The district council’s community services manager, Mr Jim Besson, said: “We have previously suggested making contributions to the running costs of The Buttermarket toilets in return for the early opening of the toilets to accommodate market traders. This was not accepted by The Buttermarket management, so we have not looked further into this proposal.

“It should be borne in mind that the provision of public toilets in The Buttermarket is a good way of increasing footfall, which benefits the shopping centre.

“It is not our place to speculate on the cause of the plumbing problems.”

Mr Besson said Newark Town Council managed and maintained the Tolney Lane, Gilstrap and London Road public toilets under an agency agreement with the district council, and an annual payment was made for cleaning and maintenance.

He said: “The district council budget for public toilets has increased by £7,000 from the 2008-9 budget to the 2009-10 budget.”

Mr Besson said they were working with the Oakgate Group to provide new toilets in St Mark’s Place. Plans were approved last year.



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