Hopes for long awaited public loos for Maidstone women took another blow as the council yet again decided the cost is too high.

Maidstone Borough Council announced on Wednesday, July 2, that the high cost of women’s public toilets being installed in the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights means the proposed conveniences will not go ahead.

A council spokesman said: “The cost of temporary toilets is prohibitive, so we have worked with businesses to make sure that there is provision through the community toilets scheme.”

Currently Bar Chocolate, located in Market Buildings just off Week Street, provide public toilets to women during the night in Maidstone.

Street scene officer with the council’s Environmental Services Section, John Edwards, confirmed to head of housing and community services, John Littlemore, that the cost of providing the facilities was too steep to justify.

It is the latest in the saga which has been rumbling on for the last year and centres around the fact that the high cost outweighs the limited need.

Speaking last October at a nighttime economy meeting, Street Pastor Jonathan Jankowski said: “I do feel like a stuck record on it but it is an issue that keeps coming up. There is nowhere for ladies to do what they need to do.”

Maidstone Borough Council’s cleaning supervisor, George Gray, confirmed that the existing male public toilets would continue to appear in the town centre every Friday and Saturday night.

The male toilets, which were originally installed to prevent public urination, have previously been dragged in to the controversy, with female revellers reportedly using them on nights out in the town centre.