Cash for shops letting public use toilets

Shopkeepers in Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley will be offered cash incentives from the council to let members of the public use their toilets, it was revealed today.

Cannock Chase Council is looking at the idea to help solve a toilet shortage in the three towns.

Glenn Watson, economic development manager, said the only alternative solution would be to build new public toilet blocks costing the authority thousands of pounds. However it is not yet clear what level of reward shopkeepers would be offered for helping out.

Mr Watson said: "The cost would be thousands upon thousands to build new toilets," he said. "This way it gets people into the shops and fulfils the demand for the council."

Mr Watson said it was too early to say exactly what kind of reward shopkeepers would get for making their toilets available.

"That is to be decided, it would maybe work on a sliding scale", he said. "If a business offered access to a single toilet upstairs, it wouldn't be as good as having more than one toilet and disabled facilities downstairs."

Mr Watson said similar schemes have proved popular in some parts of London and parts of the Scottish Highlands.

The idea has been met with approval from Cannock Shopping Centre manager Natal Chapman.

She said: "We do have a shortage and I am very keen to get involved and will be holding a meeting with the council in the next couple of weeks. It's a two-fold solution which I think could help traders.

"We have one at the top of the escalator by Argos, but I think that is the only one."

Councillor Alan Pearson, who represents Hednesford North, said the town has a shortage but this should be solved when the giant new Tesco opens, scheduled to be around Christmas time.

By Harry Gottschalk