Harrogate Borough Council has defended its plans to ask staff to use public toilets in Knaresborough.
Staff at the council-run Knaresborough tourist information centre are due to move from their current location in the town library to the Courthouse Museum in the grounds of Knaresborough Castle in June.
Museum workers already use nearby public toilets on Cheapside because the ancient castle doesn’t have a drainage system.
Tourist information staff now face the same situation.
A council spokesperson said:
“Knaresborough Castle and the Courthouse Museum are ancient monuments, which do not have any drainage facilities. To install them would come at a significant cost along with a number of archaeological challenges.
“Therefore, employees are expected to use public toilets, which are located close by in Castle Yard.”
David Houlgate, branch secretary at Unison Harrogate has raised concerns, saying office workers having to use outdoor toilets should “definitely remain a thing of the past”.
He added:
“Whilst public toilets are OK if people are caught short when out and about in the town, they are not suitable to be the designated toilets for staff working in an indoor environment promoting the town and wider district.
“There is also no guarantee that they will be open when needed.”
Mr Houlgate said council bosses were pushing ahead with the planned move without addressing the “reasonable and legitimate” concerns of staff.
Unison has also raised concerns about disabled access at the museum.
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The council spokesperson replied:
“The museum has level access to the rear of the building so that it can be accessed by everyone. Unfortunately, as a historic listed building with a number of internal and external steps, it is not possible to provide full access to the building.
“The welfare of our staff is paramount and we will continue to update them as plans progress and address any concerns they may have.”
The spokesperson added that moving the tourist centre into the heart of Knaresborough would provide a “better service” for visitors and residents.
Lack of Harrogate toilets could force shoppers to ‘go behind a bush’A Harrogate retailer has criticised the number of open public toilets in the town since shops reopened on Monday, saying shoppers could be forced “to go behind a bush”.
Bob Kennedy, who owns G23 and Porters in Harrogate, said his stores have had several customers this week who have travelled from outside Harrogate and cannot find anywhere to go when they need the toilet.
Harrogate Borough Council reopened its Valley Gardens and Library Gardens toilets on June 13. However, the toilets at Victoria Shopping Centre, which are not owned by the council, are currently closed until further notice.
Currently, the nearest public toilet to the town centre is Library Gardens, which Mr Kennedy said is ‘not good enough’ as it’s too far away for shoppers.
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With toilets in cafes and restaurants still unavailable, he suggested it could force people into some uncomfortable situations.
Mr Kennedy said:
“How can you say to people, ‘come to shop in Harrogate, but you better not drink anything because if you want to go to the loo you’re absolutely knackered unless you want to go behind a bush?’
“What about people who have small children? Where will they go? They’ll go up a back alley.”
Mr Kennedy, who was the chairman of the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) until March when he resigned, also criticised Harrogate Borough Council and the BID for not providing alternatives to shoppers such as portaloos.
Harrogate BID declined to make a comment.
A spokesperson for the Victoria Shopping Centre told the Stray Ferret that its toilets will not reopen until they believe it is safe to do so.
They said:
“Initially when we open and until we are happy our plans around social distancing are working, we don’t intend to open the public toilets. It is important that we get a feel for how busy the shopping centre and town are before further reviewing. We are reviewing our risk assessments on a continuous basis and due to the narrow entrances to the toilets, we have concluded that for the time being, the public toilets will not be open.
“Our primary concern is opening the centre in a safe way and also considering the welfare of both customers, tenants and staff at all times.”