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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 09:51:38
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The population of Angmering has grown in fits and starts over the years and no doubt this pattern will continue in the future. The current population stands at about 8000.
Irrespective of growth, our parish councillors will never address the need for proper public toilets in the village and hope that some business in the village centre will provide these. There are none at the moment and APC is hoping that a shop will open theirs to the public - presumably just during opening hours. This really is unsatisfactory in this day and age. What message does this send out to residents and visitors to Angmering?
In the meantime, APC will be spending our money on a Welfare Unit to the south of Bramley Green for their two ground maintenance workers. This will have seating and toilet facilities for the two in addition to being able to house their equipment. The workers currently use the facilities at the Parish Council office or the Community Centre and no doubt this will continue dependent on where they will be working.
APC has given no indication of how much the Welfare Unit will cost? £20,000, £30,000? I have no idea, but the Unit will have to be fairly substantial if it is not going to be burgled or vandalised. Being in an isolated position, no doubt a security camera will follow at some time! When Bramley Green was completed, APC told us that doing grass cutting etc by its own staff using its own equipment was going to be the cheap option!
In satisfying the needs of their own two members of staff, APC seem to have forgotten the needs of the 8000 residents plus all the visitors who come to Angmering. Take this Saturday for example - there will be no toilet facilities for the many hundreds of adults and children who will visit the Annual Village Market on Fletcher's Field. Lack of such facilities also impacts on the shops and businesses in the centre of Angmering - our village lifeblood - but APC has a history of ignoring these!
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Nigel
Senior Member
United Kingdom
238 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 10:34:38
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Just to add to your comments Neil. The Welfare Unit will be on Bramley Green, don't the maintenance workers go anywhere else, (The North/South divide issue again.) or will we see another unit in the future for when they are working in the North of the village.
When I was chairman of APC, one of my suggestions was for the instillation of one of the cubicle type public toilets somewhere in the village centre. This was thought of as unnecessary expense even though ADC contribute towards the upkeep of public toilets. APC was already paying for the maintenance and upkeep of the toilets at the Lamb, even though they didn't own them and they could be closed at any time, as they have been.
Why should a shopkeeper provide public toilets, this is the job of the parish councillors. I don't see any of them giving out their addresses and saying 'if you get caught short, pop round' |
Edited by - Nigel on 16 Aug 2013 10:58:41 |
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luckyduck
Moderator
United Kingdom
169 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 10:58:28
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| It needs to be included in the neighbourhood plan - as part of the tourism section - without toilets, we won't get tourists, so that part of the plan can be scrapped without toilets, regardless of their ideals to get more tourists here as an entry to the South Downs National Park. |
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 14:44:27
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Neil, Sorry you seem to have bee given some wrong information, I dont know where from, but need to correct it.
At no time have the Parish Council worked on the principle of the shops opening their toilets to the public.
Most shop insurance policies forbid this and it would invalidate their insurance, so I can assure you this has never, to my knowledge, ever been on the agenda.
Many people may be aware that I have spent a lot of time and efforts over the last 18 years endeavouring to keep these toilets open and maintained. We had hoped the agreement would have gone on for longer but sadly we lost the facility.
We are working on an alternative premises and I really hope we will be successful, these are so needed in the village.
We are looking at all options at the moment to ensure we have public loos in this vilage.
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any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 17:28:45
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Thanks for your remarks Pat. However, the attachment to the latest minutes of APC's Environment Committee dated 24 July 2013 clearly states:
quote:
The local shop has been approached about the private toilet; a letter is to be sent to the owner of these to see if they can be used as a public toilet, maintained by the Parish Council.
Can you comment on this? |
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 18:45:31
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Yes, of course Neil.
The Toilet we have located, although belongs to a shop, is not an integral part of the shop and can be totally independant.
It is also in the village centre making it exellent access for all.
Talking with owner at present to see if we can come to an 'arrangement'.
I guess I may a bit guilty of living in 'cuckoo' land, hoping that the public loo at the lamb would go on forever, but it was not to be and it has left us a bit short 
We think that any toilet we supply needs to be as near to the village centre as possible but there is not exactly any spaces where we can find that would be suitable.
If we move further out of the centre, you are generally faced with a steep hill and that is not good for the many elderly folk who use them, or indeed if you are taken short.
More than happy to look at any suggestions from anyone over this as to location, in case our present plan falls through.
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any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 19:12:32
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APC has been very fortunate in securing the outside toilets at The Lamb for a number of years but The Lamb or any other shop/business in the village has any absolutely no obligation to provide public toilet facilities.
The toilet that APC is trying to secure can only be a very temporary solution as it would be most inadequate for the public - if it is where I think it is. Would it be open 24/7? Somehow I doubt it. Modern hygienic toilets for both genders are needed.
There are a number of locations for public toilets that could be considered or investigated, namely: behind the Library; just behind Vestry Hall in Fletcher's Field; in the Medical Centre curtilage. Perhaps readers can suggest other possible sites. |
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luckyduck
Moderator
United Kingdom
169 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 19:25:25
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| Surely the library must be number one choice - it is publicy owned, and would be a strong reason for it to be open 'normal' working hours 6 days a week, and if security could be resolved could be 24/7. Whatever is chosen though, must be vandal proof - whilst we are on the whole, lucky in this village, we do get some idiots around, and IF we get any more development, who knows what could happen. |
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 19:40:43
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Thanks for that Neil.
the toilets we are hoping for would be 'long term' as we would have to do a lot of work to bring it up to standard, but once done, I think would be very acceptable.
No toilets can be made available 24/7 in this day and age with the problems of vandalism etc.
the Lamb toilets have onnly been open from roughly 9=5 each day and that seemed to have been acceptable.
The library advertise on their website as having 'public toilets'.
We have already asked West Sussex if they can verify/check whether this can be for all public and not just library customers. Obviously at the moment, the library is not open full time, but that is still a project we are working on.
Fletchers Field have definite covenants which forbid any buildings of any sort.
Medical Centre curtiledge may be a possibility, but it is still quite a walk from the centre if you are in a hurry.
Investigations for this area are already in hand.
Someone suggested this afternoon about the land at the front of the pumping station. That could be a very good possibility but would be a lengthy process of trying to get necessary agreements - but there is nothing to stop us starting investigations.
Please keep the suggestions coming in, this is more than encouraging.
Thank you. |
any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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BFA
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
410 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 20:55:42
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The library forecourt, it's council land. It's chained off and not used for anything, just 100m from the old loos.
Crossing the road there from, say, the Church, isn't much fun, but you'd have to do that from there to get to the old loos. |
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Nigel
Senior Member
United Kingdom
238 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 23:10:00
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| I understood that the area of pavement on the eastern side of The Lamb,where the grit bin is, is in fact WSCC land. Central to the village, overlooked, and as close as you can get to the old loos.Perhaps they could be approached. One of the modern 'pay as you go' toilets would fit there nicely and would be unisex and give disabled access. |
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BFA
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
410 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2013 : 23:31:18
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| Wouldn't blend in very well and the pub would have very reasonable grounds for objection, which I for one would support! Any new public loo should be free as well, as the last one was. The grit bin is enough of an eyesore - it's Summer anyway - take the things away until they're needed! |
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derekdainton
deleted
579 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2013 : 12:42:57
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Wikipedia entry on the book Clochemerle:
Clochemerle is a 1934 French satirical novel by Gabriel Chevallier. It is set in a French village in Beaujolais inspired by Vaux-en-Beaujolais[1][2] and deals with the ramifications over plans to install a new urinal in the village square.
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Karl@KCM
Senior Member
United Kingdom
169 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2013 : 10:13:43
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quote:
Originally posted by patty
Medical Centre curtiledge may be a possibility, but it is still quite a walk from the centre if you are in a hurry.
I understand it would be quite a walk if youre in a hurry, but as it is now, surely its worse if youre in a hurry? |
Edited by - Karl@KCM on 23 Aug 2013 10:14:02 |
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Questor
Average Member
United Kingdom
53 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2013 : 07:25:32
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In reply to Nigel, the area to the eastern side of The Lamb where the green bin is and where we park The Lamb car is owned by The Lamb and not WSCC.
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AngmeringAl
Junior Member
United Kingdom
26 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2013 : 21:43:47
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| Nigel , that must rank as one of the most daft ideas I have read on this forum ! , a modern pay as you go toilet in the Square lol how great that will look in a conservation area next to a listed building . |
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Atomius
Junior Member
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2013 : 16:59:33
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Well now naturally public toilets must be built where there are enough people who are not residents or who spend time away from their houses at local businesses but as customers not workers. I don't know nowt about insurance and vandalism and such, but a simple composting toilet made of timber or stone would do the job. Otherwise one would have to walk into some lane outside the village to do ones business, and in cold weather or busy days this would be rather difficult.
The problem is flushing mechanisms introduced a few centuries ago and the provision of paper. These add a cost of maintenance to toilet facilities. My only suggestion would be to construct a stone chamber with a pit? Or possibly an entry to the stream which would act as a natural seweage flow pipe. |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2013 : 18:29:29
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And what century are we in?  |
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Paul
Advanced Member
319 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 17:24:40
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Water companies are fined large amounts of money for releasing raw sewage into the environment. Now Atomius is suggesting that Angmering releases it into a stream that runs through the village centre and is prone to flooding in very wet weather due to blockages.
Why do the mental processes involved in such a proposal make me feel like it is just another day at work?
Perhaps it could have a picture of a Gryphon on it and be called "Ye Olde Saxon Squatter". |
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Questor
Average Member
United Kingdom
53 Posts |
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 23:22:22
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| The library seems to be the ideal solution to me. Surely a negotiation with WSCC should give the Parish Council a green light. |
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