ACCRINGTON SUPERLOO

The superloo on Peel Street in Accrington is to be closed in a cost-saving measure by Hyndburn Borough Council.

Hyndburn Conservative Leader Peter Britcliffe agreed a contract at a meeting of his ten-member Cabinet on 16th January 2002 which required it to be used 386 times a day 365 days a year for over twenty years just to break even. In order to be financially viable the toilet needed usage every 3.7 minutes at 20 pence a time to recover an annual rental agreement of £28,245.

Although the cost of prematurely ending the contract was expensive, Labour ended it and saved the ratepayer £200,000 over the term of the original agreement, a move which has been criticised by the Conservatives. The public conveniences on Peel Street will remain open and are not under threat from this decision.

A news report from the Lancashire Telegraph can be found here:

Lancashire Telegraph - £18 to spend a penny