New loos for St Budeaux blocked

Caught short of cash

People in St Budeaux will need to wait longer than expected for their public loos to be replaced, despite councillors already pledging funds for them to be rebuilt. 

The dilapidated toilet block on Wolseley Road, next to the community centre, was earmarked as an important project. Now one councillor is demanding to know what has happened to a grant of £10,800 which was to help pay for the new facilities.   

Cllr Sally Haydon (Labour, St Bureaux) was one of three local councillors who pledged £3,600 each from their annual grant in the financial year 2020-2021.   It was 80 per cent of their total grant for the year. 

The remaining £40,000 needed was due to be provided by the city council and was backed by the Cllr Mark Lowry (Labour, Honicknowle) who, at that time, was the relevant portfolio holder. 

Cllr Haydon is demanding to know what happened to the money that was pledged and blames the Conservative administration for not completing the project.  

“I am absolutely furious. This was all carefully planned when Labour were in charge,” said Cllr Haydon.

“But once the Conservatives took over it has come to a complete standstill and our money is languishing somewhere when it could be being used to the benefit of people in St Budeaux who are asking me all the time when they are going to get the loos they were promised.

“The toilets are in an absolutely disgusting state,” she added and directly criticised council leader Nick Kelly (Conservative, Compton).

“I notice that the Conservative leader of the council has just announced a huge investment in his own ward with the clean up of Mutley Plain,” said Cllr Haydon.

“I am delighted for the people who live there, but what about the St Budeaux residents who would like to see their area treated properly too?”

A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: “The money is not lost. 

“The community grant funding of £10,800 from Councillors Wheeler, Winter and Haydon to contribute towards the new toilets in St Budeaux Square is being held in council reserves ready for drawdown once the additional funding can be secured. 

“£10,000 would not support the full cost of the works so the business case for the new toilets was to charge users 40 pence. However this was rejected. 

“Following this on the 28 February, full council approved the capital budget and the additional funding required will be considered as part of that programme.”