Toilets in Market Drayton trashed yet again leaving furious councillors counting costs

Councillor Tim Manton, chair of Market Drayton Town Council's services and facilities committee, has vented his frustration after the latest vandal attack on the Towers Lawn public toilets.

A toilet cubicle door was smashed down and a sanitiser suspensor was broken. 

The facility has been repeatedly targeted by vandals in recent months with graffiti sprayed over toilet cubicles and other facilities trashed, costing the local authority large amounts to fix.

In November last year, renovation plans for the toilets were submitted to Shropshire Council.

After months of consultation, Market Drayton Town Council decided on a proposed renovation plan that will see a new layout and a total of five new "vandal-proof" cubicles installed with baby changing facilities in the men’s, ladies' and disabled toilets.

Renovation will also see a space created as a rest room for bus drivers, as part of proposals to improve the town's bus station area.

Alongside the existing facility being quite dated, Councillor Manton said the public toilets have been subjected to large levels of vandalism during the past few years. 

"I am not often lost for words, but I am because I can’t find it within myself to find out why somebody or people would carry on doing it," he said. 

"To our knowledge there is no reason why someone would carry on doing this. I think it is acts of wanton vandalism by a tiny minority of people. 

"It’s just crazy, and beggars belief to be honest. It’s a shame for the rest of the residents of the town.

"What is more worrying is that the town council is going to spend a lot of money refurbishing that facility and providing new toilets for residents and our concern is that this is going to carry on and we are going to end up having a new facility which is being constantly vandalised. It is very worrying that there is that tiny minority in Market Drayton, it is quite upsetting.

"But, forwards we go and we will not be stopped by that minority."

Mr Manton said the local authority will continue to monitor and review CCTV in efforts to catch the vandals.

Market Drayton Town Council is urging any residents with information to contact the council or West Mercia Police.

The council has previously been forced to shut the public toilets and reduce their opening times after similar incidents.

Mr Manton is hoping the council does not have to think about taking the same measures again in a bid to stop the vandals. 

He added: "We have closed the toilets and reduced the opening hours in the past. But, there comes to a stage where you can only do that for so long. It is a facility that is used, you can only close it for short periods intermittently before you have to then get back to a normality. 

"We went through periods of closing them and reducing the opening hours last year, and it did stop a lot of the vandalism, but you can’t continue with that, you need to open them for the public to use.

"But, if this carries on we are going to have to start looking at having shorter opening hours. 

"It’s a facility in Market Drayton that we all need: the young, the elderly, passing bus and taxi drivers, everybody. But it just ignites the conversation again of what is the point of having the facility if it keeps getting vandalised because of the cost of repairing it time and time again?"

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