Parish Council Secures Sustainable Future for Holmfirth Public Toilets

Published: 01 October 2018

The Parish Council was pleased to secure planning permission from Kirklees last week to enable us to progress with developing the public toilets in Holmfirth. Our aim is to create a more sustainable asset which balances our commitment to retain quality public conveniences as an essential facility in the town whilst making better use of the space within the building. Our plans condense the toilets into the right hand side of the building allowing us to provide full facilities for male, female and disabled users and by reducing the number of toilets by one (from seven to six cubicles), we will be converting the left hand side of the building into a lettable space. We will be working with local builder, Bray Building Services, to retain access to toilet provision throughout the works and once the alterations are complete, we will seek suitable tenants for the newly created space.

We will be starting work early in 2018 and once complete, we hope to reduce the public subsidy required to keep the toilets open each year. Since taking the toilets over from Kirklees in August 2016, the Parish Council has successfully run them at an annual cost of £15,000 which is a reduction from the £54,000 which Kirklees Council claimed they were costing the local taxpayer back in 2014. The toilets currently raise approximately £6,500 in donations from users and it is hoped that renting out the new space will help raise a significant contribution towards this annual cost of £15,000 thereby saving money for local taxpayers.

For more details, our planning application can be found by clicking this link.