The fate of the toilets in Budleigh Salterton is still unknown following a town council meeting last night (Monday, May 23).

It was agreed the council would go back to East Devon District Council (EDDC). which owns the facilities, with an interest in buying the public toilets to run themselves or renting them from EDDC. However, the price has to be negotiated.

Councillors were told the plans for the loos in Station Road and Brook Road are down to three options:

  • Retain and lease them from the district council with full responsibility for upkeep

  • Lease them but let EDDC refurbish and clean them

  • Or they could be sold off as a community space, a cafe or a cycle hire venue with a public access toilet attached to it.

The lease option would mean signing a 99-year lease on the toilets, but the town council would be responsible for the cleaning.

Option two is to pay £20,000 a year - £58 a day - to rent the Station Road toilets from EDDC, BSTC would have to pay for refurbishment but they would be maintain by the district council.

Another option could be that community groups might be interested in renting them for storage, the chamber of commerce could use the site for storing Christmas lights, or road signs.

At the meeting on Monday, councillor Lynda Evans said: "I have always said I don't want to keep the toilets on Brook Road, I'll write those off, but the ones on Station Road have to stay open, we are a tourist town, do we want tourists or not? What is the first thing a coach needs when it pulls up, somewhere to go for a wee.

"I do think we should get together with other coastal towns; we aren't the only ones fighting for a toilet.”

Cllr Paul Hayward added: "We talked about this back months ago in regards to purchasing Brook Road (toilets) and the way I see it being offered a peppercorn rent on both and having the control to utilise them for our benefit is a big help.

“We have five to 10 years to change the properties, I know we have to clean them as well, but I’m sure we can organise that.

“I think it's an opportunity we shouldn’t miss.”