Nearly 1000 people have signed a petition calling for the return of public toilets in the Whitchurch area of Cardiff.
Cardiff Council decided to close many public toilets in 2014 due to their high running costs and now there are no public toilets in the area.
Whitchurch resident Betty Lewis (pictured above) started the petition because she says the lack of facilities is letting the area down.
“People need to know there’s a public loo here. People come through Whitchurch and say ‘excuse me, can you tell me where the public loos are’ and there aren’t any.
“It’s not a very good introduction to Whitchurch.”
Ben Thomas, Labour councillor for Whitchurch and Tongwynlais, presented the petition at a meeting of the full council last week.
He says locals have been forced to use toilets in cafes and shops due to the lack of public facilities in the area.
He said: “Paying customers are finding more and more non-paying visitors coming and requesting to use the facilities there.
“It’s not the right thing for businesses to refuse them, but quite rightly some business owners are becoming frustrated.”
Cardiff Council cut funding for public toilets in the 2014-15 budget due to high running costs.
In a statement, Cardiff Council said: “Providing public conveniences isn’t a statutory duty for any council in Wales.
“The previous public toilet (in Whitchurch) was prohibitively expensive, costing over £16 for each use.
“A consultation took place with the local community, necessary assessments were carried out and the public toilet was removed.”
