Kintbury toilet funding options put to public consultation

The facilities, situated by the level crossing, are under threat of closure as part of West Berkshire Council’s plans to cut £11m from its budget by 2016.
They were due to close at the end of this month, but Kintbury Parish Council has agreed to pay for them to stay open until March 31, 2015.
Now a public consultation is taking place to ask residents if they would like them to continue to pay for the toilets after April 2015 or whether they should be permanently closed.
Kintbury Parish Council says that each household in the village would have to pay, on average, £10 a year in council tax to keep the facilities open.
The Canal and River Trust – which was set up to look after the waterways of England and Wales – has agreed to pay £2,000 a year towards the maintenance costs to help ease the financial burden and the parish council says it is currently looking to secure further funding from other sources.
In a statement on its website, the parish council says that the toilets are an important facility for the village, train passengers and visitors and that they would like to continue to keep them open.
Residents wanting to have their say should send their comments via email to kintburyparishcouncil@gmail.com or in writing to be posted in the response box at the Corner Stores by September 30.