CALSTOCK councillors said this week Cornwall Council's plans to cut public toilet funding which could end up with many being closed was 'sheer folly'.

Members of the parish council were told there were plans to cut the costs for public loos in Gunnislake and Calstock by 50%. The toilets currently cost £14,000 to run, so the parish council either has to find the £7,000 shortfall or close one of the facilities.

Strategic waste and landscape manager for Cornwall Council Charlie David said the council had to make savings and did not have a statutory duty to provide public toilets.

Toilet facilities across the county currently cost around £3-million a year to manage. The council was looking to reduce the environmental services budget from £20-million to £16-million by 2013/14.

'A strategy is being prepared and adopted by Cornwall Council to see how it can be achieved and we are looking to work with partners like parish and town councils to see if we can share the burden of public conveniences,' said Mr David.

'The intention of Cornwall Council is not the wholesale closure of public conveniences, but inevitably there will be some closures.'

Calstock councillors were told the largest cost in running the toilets was the cleaning and consumables which cost around £3,200 a year. This could be done cheaper, without the administration costs, at a local level. Public toilets also incurred business rates, with Calstock being £1,179 annually and Gunnislake £1,647.

Cllr Stephen Jaggard said: 'Calstock parish is in an area of outstanding natural beauty where the aim is to attract tourists. Are we seriously thinking this is a message we want going out to tourists and tourism companies? I think it is sheer folly.'

Cllr Dorothy Kirk said with no public toilets where would people change their babies' nappies: 'In Calstock we are heavily reliant on tourism. Given all the money that was spent on enhancing it, I think it would be very foolish.'

Councillors said it was wrong that business rates should be paid on toilets and there should be some flexibility on this. Mr David said that Government set the business rates but these would be waived on public toilets if they were run by a trust or charity.

Cllr Jerome Irons said he had never used the public toilets in Calstock or Gunnislake and he had lived in the area for almost 30 years: 'We had the same reaction a few years ago when public telephones went, but very few people used them. People would probably get used to it.'

The parish council agreed to discuss what happens with the public toilets in the parish at a future meeting.