A parish council is considering the future of a block of public toilets after claims it costs “up to £60 per use”.

The facilities on Pitfield Green in Meopham, opposite the cricket green, shut at the start of April due to financial reasons.

But a vote will now be held on the decision after people living in the area complained about the loss of the facility.

Explaining the parish council’s decision, Paul Watson said: “In December, we set the 2024/25 budget and the decision was taken to close the toilets mainly on financial grounds.

“The toilets are not in great condition and to bring them up to the right standard you're probably looking up to an excess of £50,000. At the end of the day, the toilets aren’t well used.”

In 2023/24 the block cost £11,499 to run in cleaning costs and maintenance for burst pipes and other problems.

So far this year, the council has spent £1,264.80 per month which means it is likely to cost £15,177 for the rest of the year.

The exact number of people who use the site is not known but a footfall counter was installed between October 2022 and March 2023 and 52 visits were recorded in that period.

Cllr Watson explained: “We absolutely accept that visits to the toilets increase over the summer months so for purposes of benchmarking the actual costs per visit of the toilets, a range of numbers were used.

“At 250 visits the cost per visit is £60.71.

“If there are 500 visits over the course of the year , the cost is £30.35 each time. If it is assumed that there are two visits per day, every day of the week (728 visits a year) the cost is £20.84

“There are no concrete plans for the future of the toilets currently, but an option could be to repurpose them and use them for commercial or community use.”

There are still several nearby toilets for villagers to use, including one at Costa and Minel Meze & Grill.

A spokesman for Meopham Parish Council said: “We aim to ultimately have six venues across the parish with the benefits for parishioners and other users of longer opening hours and access to a greater number of facilities.”

But those living in the area have described the Pitfield Green toilets as an “important public facility”.

At a parish meeting on May 17, a poll was proposed by elector Max Bramer for the parish council to reopen the public toilets.

There were ten electors in support of the demand for a parish poll, which means it legally has to go ahead.

It will be taking place on Thursday (June 20) between 4pm and 9pm. Polling stations can be found here.

Mr Bramer said: “The disabled facility was accessible 24/7 all year round to anyone with a RADAR key, which in practice often included parents with babies or small children, or both, who appreciated the larger space.

“This was just the kind of facility we all rely on when we go elsewhere.

“Please draw the poll to the attention of your friends and neighbours and remind them on the day.”

Cllr Watson says the estimated cost to run the poll is between £10,000 and £15,000.

He added: “It is regrettable that taxpayers money is being spent on this.”