Faversham public toilets are holding the town back as a prime tourist destination, according to a town councillor.

Trevor Payne (Lab) thinks the loos in both the Central car park and the recreation ground are “not up to scratch” and in need of a good scrubbing and revamp if Faversham is to go forward as a go-to town.

The toilets are currently in the hands of Swale Borough Council (SBC) but Cllr Payne even suggests that maybe the town council should take them on as their responsibility.

He says that the cleaners do a great job but it’s not the cleanliness, they just need updating.

He said: “Faversham has an ambition to improve its position as a tourist destination. As tourists arrive on coaches into the main car park, the chances are that the first thing they want to do once they get off the coach is go to the loo – and that is their first impression of Faversham.

“They don’t exactly say ‘welcome to Faversham’ and they are really just not doing us any favours. They are functional, but that is about as far as their positive attributes go.

“They are of a certain age and something needs to be done. It’s not going to be a quick fix but we should be working towards something.”

The Growth and Development Panel, a committee of the town council, have added the public toilets to their list of jobs and will be tackling the problem over the next year.

Swale Borough Council spokesman Mike McGann said: “The Central car park toilets are monitored between 7am and 7pm.

“They are in good shape and cleaned throughout the day.

“The ones at the recreation ground are not in a terribly good state but are always cleaned before they open at 7am.

“However, we have only received a handful of complaints and we have informed the environment team to take a look into the councillor’s concerns.”

Cllr Payne added: “With the pressure on local government finances, they tend to only spend money on things they need to, not on things they could do.

“We should be moving forward into the future – some public toilets are installing hoists in the disabled loos and these are the sort of ideas we should be looking at.

“The loos need updating if Faversham is to move forward as a tourist destination.”