by Graham Tutthill

A working group has been set up by Dover Town Council to investigate the future running of Dover's public toilets.

The move follows the re-opening of two sets of toilets which were closed by the district council to save money.

The council re-opened them "as an act of good faith" following an e-mail from Dover Mayor Cllr Sue Jones, saying she was keen for talks between the two authorities to continue.

The move came just 48 hours after the Mercury called for the toilets at Buckland Bridge and Maison Dieu Gardens to be re-opened and for the district and town councils to sort the situation out "in a responsible manner".

The toilets were closed on January 4. The district council had asked Dover Town Council to take them over, but the closure went ahead because the district council claimed talks were going nowhere.

Cllr Nigel Collor, DDC cabinet member for access, told the Mercury the toilets had been re-opened at 9am on Saturday, January 30, following a "very positive and constructive letter" from Dover Mayor Cllr Sue Jones identifying a way forward.

"The council is happy to enter into discussions with Dover Town Council and, as an act of good faith, will be re-opening the toilets while discussions take place."

Council leader Cllr Paul Watkins said the closures would not have taken place if he had known the town council was organising a public meeting on the issue.

Roger Walton, who is the council’s head of property, leisure and waste management, told members of the scrutiny committee he had taken the decision to close them as operational decisions had been delegated to him.

“We had been having discussions with the cabinet right through the autumn about the deteriorating budget position,” he said.

“We have had discussions with members of the town and parish councils about cross-funding arrangements. It would seem that the discussions with Dover Town Council were not moving forward. We decided we had to take action.”

Cllr Collor said he wrote to Mr Walton telling him to take the action.

Cllr Watkins said the closures would have been delayed if the town council had told the district council about the public meeting that was being held.

Dover Society chairman Derek Leach had also called for "constructive dialogue" between both councils to resolve the situation.