Public toilets a drain on Whitby Town Council's income
According to the report by a special working group, the town council had "expended an above income sum of £85,923" between 2018 and 2024.The group was established to investigate the "financial and contractual arrangements concerning the operation and maintenance" of the toilets overseen by the council.It found the contract conditions with operator Danfo to be "confusing and ambiguous", though it emphasised there was "no evidence for, or suggestion of, malfeasance".Danfo, which operates public toilets in the UK and internationally, has been contacted for a comment, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The working group said that the toilets "have never made a profit, they have never been cost neutral".It also found the contract sum with Danfo "barely covers the cost of day-to-day operation and cleaning of the toilets".Last year, the fee for using public toilets was increased from 40p to 50p following a prediction that water costs would rise.The report stated most maintenance was the town council's responsibility, with Danfo only responsible for some minor repairs and agreement was needed about the "extent and limitations of each party's responsibility".In addition, it also recommended changes to profit sharing and improving internet connections and the reliability of card payment processes.Other actions include making it more difficult for people to evade payment and initiating structural repairs to West Cliff and New Quay Road toilets to "include alterations to the flushing systems to save water".It said the recommendations would take six months to implement and data should be monitored to identify overheads, areas of high expenditure and waste.
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