PUBLIC TOILETS in Crowthorne may be demolished, as the parish council says it cannot afford to run them.
Currently owned by Bracknell Forest Council, the local authority asked Crowthorne Parish Council to take over responsibility for the public toilets on Napier Road.
This would have made the parish responsible for costs for the repairs, maintenance, cleaning and insurance.
The parish looked into the facilities but discovered “a substantial amount of urgent and very costly work to make the building structurally and legally sound”.
This includes a new roof, brickwork repointing, replacing softened bricks, new door cils, new toilets and hand dryers, electrical wiring checks, regrouting and making the building accessible.
A spokesperson from the parish council said: “Bracknell Forest Council was charging us about £12,000 to £14,000 per year for cleaning and maintaining the facility and to cover the utility charges.”
The other costs would have been taken from the parish council’s budget.
They added: “The charge for electricity consumption and for water plus the charges for the Napier Road site equated to that for each of the Parish Hall and Morgan Centre.”
The parish owns, manages, and operates public toilets at the Morgan Recreation Ground, approximately an eight minute walk away from the Napier Road loos.
Bracknell Forest Council will now decide whether to demolish the toilets and use the space for car parking and electric car charging points.