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05
Sept 2024
'Use public toilets responsibly', urges council after Ripon conveniences re-open
North Yorkshire Council has urged people to use public toilets responsibly after a blockage caused conveniences in Ripon to close.
The council closed the public toilets by the city's bus station on Monday due to 'plumbing issues'.
They reopened the following day after repairs costing £380.
Harry Briggs, the council’s head of waste operations and streetscene, today (September 5) told the Stray Ferret:
The public toilets on Victoria Grove in Ripon are now back open and operating normally.
Unfortunately, we had to close the facilities on Monday (September 2) due to an issue with the drains.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this closure. Each year responding to blockages costs thousands of pounds across the service and much of this work could be avoided through responsible use of our network.
We often encounter cans, bottles, items of clothing and wet wipes that people have flushed and which then block the drainage which requires temporary closures to resolve.
Killinghall company Dalebuild Ltd was awarded a £162,000 contract last year to refurbish the existing toilets and to construct the city centre’s first Changing Places toliet for disabled people.
The planned refurbishment was completed last month; the Changing Places facility is due to officially open this month.
The Victoria Grove toilets are open between 8am and 8pm from 1 April to 31 October and between 8am and 6pm from 1 November to 31 March. They house the city’s only unisex toilet available overnight.
Other public toilets are available at Minster Place by Ripon Cathedral, Spa Gardens and the Wakeman’s House, which have accessible toilets available to Radar key holders 24 hours a day.
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