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18
Jul
Council plans steel doors for Harrogate's public toilets
North Yorkshire Council is planning to fit steel doors to Harrogate’s public toilets at a cost of £83,000.
The council is set to apply to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority for a £20,000 grant to help cover the costs.
The aim is to increase safety and reduce anti-social behaviour in the facilities, which are frequently abused and used for illegal activities.
Damage has included broken locks, graffiti, and misuse of the space for non-sanitary purposes such as drug misuse, leading to temporary closures, increased repair costs, and public complaints.
According to a report compiled by Michael Leah, the council’s assistant director for environment and transport, 15% of the vandalism and crime reported at the region’s public toilets occurs in Harrogate, even though the town’s toilets only represent 4% of the region’s total.
The money would be used to replace all external access doors and install automatic opening and closing mechanisms, alongside reinforced security steel doors at each site and improved lighting and signage.
The report says that installing steel doors that open and close automatically would enhance accessibility and safety, “particularly for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and women and girls”.
But it is unclear how the measures would prevent the toilets being misused or vandalised.
The grant would come from the Community Fund, which was provided by the York and North Yorkshire Office for Policing, Fire, Crime and Commissioning, now part of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The fund enables local groups and organisations to apply for grants of up to £20,000, for new or innovative projects that support increase safety within local communities in North Yorkshire or the City of York.
The report says that if the application is unsuccessful, the council will provide alternative funding from existing service budgets.
North Yorkshire Council will decide whether to apply for the grant at a meeting on July 25. The application must be made by midday on July 31.
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