PRINCETOWN has been spared the closure of its public toilets thanks to a historic lease.

The toilets had been earmarked for closure as part of West Devon Borough Council’s plans to save more than £250,000 over three years.

The borough council decided to close the bus station toilets in Tavistock and those at Bedford Bridge on the A386 near Horrabridge on April 1.

However the Princetown toilets were spared the axe at the last minute after it was discovered that the borough council is legally not allowed to close them until 2026.

It had emerged that it had signed a lease taking on responsibility to provide the toilets as its contribution to a Duchy and National Park Authority project to regenerate Princetown.

At a borough council environment services meeting on March 26, organised to discuss the public toilet closures, members heard that the council would ‘continue to provide a limited facility in Princetown whilst alternative uses of the building are explored with Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) and the Duchy of Cornwall, in line with the terms of the current lease and head lease arrangement’.

Cathy Aubertin, head of environment services practice, said in a report discussed at the meeting: ‘Although Dartmoor Forest Parish Council has declined to take on the facility in Princetown or contribute 75 per cent of the full running costs, the lease on the building means that we must continue to operate the service in a reasonable form until the expiry (March 23, 2026) or suitable renegotiation of the lease. Agreement on the level of reasonable service in terms of both opening hours and months and scale of facilities is to be further discussed with the national park and the Duchy in the next month [April].’

The leases were set up to support the regeneration of Princetown many years ago. The regeneration work was designed to boost the economy in Princetown and was supported by the borough council, the Duchy and Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Ms Aubertin added: ‘At this time the borough council was unable to support the economy improvement scheme financially so supported it through its local service infrastructure.’

The lease states that the borough council must use the premises only as public conveniences and that they must be kept open at reasonable times.

‘It is, therefore, recommended that the provision be reduced to possibly one unisex and disabled facility, open seasonally (March to October) in order to reduce cleaning and other costs, whilst officers work together with DNPA and the Duchy with a view to finding potential alternative uses for the building, which would look to include an ongoing provision of a public toilet facility,’ she added.

A spokesman for Dartmoor Forest Parish Council, which opposed the closure, commented: ‘The council welcomes the news that the toilets are going to remain open. We have always believed that they were necessary for the many visitors to the village. However, the parish council have always felt that it was unfair for the local community to be expected to have to pay such a high amount for a modest facility.’

Elsewhere in the borough, toilets in Chagford, Yelverton, Lydford, Hatherleigh, Okehampton’s Fairplace and Market Street, Tavistock’s Bedford car park and the Guildhall are remaining open, with parish and town councils taking over responsibility for them.