MELKSHAM Town Council has agreed to consider taking over the lease for the disused public toilet block near Church Street car park, from Wiltshire Council. The toilet block was closed by Wiltshire Council in 2016 in a bid to save money.
The toilet block also contains an additional room, which the town’s Pet Food Bank charity has expressed an interest in operating from, should the council take over the entire building.
At the full town council meeting on Monday 29th April, councillors unanimously voted for officers to look into the possibility of taking on the building as an asset transfer from Wiltshire Council.
Putting forward the motion, cllr Phil Alford said the rateable value of the building would be £3,500 per year.
He explained, “I have had conversations with Wiltshire Council officers, which is why I am putting forward this motion to ask if the town would like to explore the option of taking on the block as part of an asset transfer, although we could have it on a seven-year lease and roll that through.
Costs and risks
“It’s down to the officers to go away and discuss with Wiltshire Council and come back with a report about what the costs and the risks to the council would be. I am not actually asking for any other commitment other than officers going out to do that exploratory work.”
Cllr Jon Hubbard warned about the costs to the town for taking the building on. He said, “The existing infrastructure in the toilets is not fit for use; it’s been raided, and all the working bits have been taken from it. If we were looking at bringing these back, then we would be talking about a substantial bill for effectively building a new toilet block.”
Although supportive of the motion for officers to explore the idea, cllr Graham Ellis also warned councillors of the potential costs of taking the building on.
Asked whether the town council could take on the additional room alone and not the toilet block, cllr Alford said that the lease would be for the whole building, including the toilets.
Officers will now explore the possibility of taking the building on as an asset transfer and report back to councillors.
