RESIDENTS in Bere Alston last week gave the green light to re-opening public conveniences in the village and in nearby Bere Ferrers ? despite the extra cost to parish ratepayers. At a public meeting in the village hall, chairman of Bere Ferrers Parish Council Eaon Wager revealed that in a recent consultation, 258 residents were in favour of re-opening the toilets and paying extra on their council tax, while 142 voted against the idea. Leaflets had been distributed to 1,270 properties in the area. Cllr Wager said a cheer went up from the 100 or so people who attended the meeting when he announced the result. He said: ?This was a very contentious issue. We promised the parish last year we would consult them in time for this year?s precept. ?We sent out letters to every house on the electoral roll, we had a 30% response and the poll revealed a quite substantial majority wanted the toilets re-opened.? Cllr Wager said the responses were counted last Tuesday at the council?s finance and general purposes committee meeting in the presence of the mayor of West Devon, Cllr Christine Grills. Cllr Wager said: ?I honestly don?t think we could have done things in a fairer way. It was a democratic thing to do, everyone had their chance to say yes or no over an important issue.? He said re-opening the toilets in Bere Alston and Bere Ferrers would cost the parish council an extra £13,000 a year ? which would equate to a rise of £12 a year to rate payers in a Band D property. Resident Brian Martin, who attended the meeting, said he was ?astonished? at the number of people who had taken the trouble to take part in the consultation. ?I was very impressed, particularly as there had been no publicity regarding it,? said Mr Martin. Resident Mike Benson said the decision by West Devon Borough Council to close the public conveniences was ?ironic?, given the fact the peninsula was promoted to tourists and day visitors as an ideal destination for walking, cycling and enjoying the area of outstanding natural beauty. He was pleased with the result of the consultation. ?I welcome anything that keeps the village community going ? I always felt it was wrong to close the toilets; you should provide public facilities,? he said. The decision to close the public toilets on the Bere Peninsula followed a cost-cutting review by the borough council. Other parishes across West Devon affected in the same way as the Bere Peninsula took on responsibility for the toilets once the borough withdrew from the agreement. At the time the proposal was made, Bere Ferrers Parish Council had already set its precept and said it did not have the money to take on responsibility for the toilets. But the decision proved highly unpopular and resulted in a flurry of petitions and letters of protest. The parish will now re-open the toilets with effect from April 1.
