and our survey said…

Whilst there are still a few surveys coming back, most are now in and I am pleased to report that over 500 people have taken part.  This is an amazing percentage for this sort of survey and shows just how strong local feeling is about the issue.

You can read more about the survey results over on my website.  I have also included below the text of emails that I have sent to the Councillor Gay (the Leader of the Council) and Councillor Hannah, the Cabinet Member for the Environment and also a councillor for Sheringham North.

Email to Cllr Gray

Dear Cllr Gay

 

As you may be aware, I have recently carried out a survey of the views of local people about the Council’s plans for the toilets in Sheringham.

 

The survey was delivered to every home in the town and the results have been overwhelming, with over 500 responses received.

 

Equally clear have been the findings:

·         76% think that the temporary toilets on the East Promenade are unsightly and 64% say they are difficult to access.

·         93% want to see the permanent toilets on the East Promenade renovated and reopened.

·         97% want to have all the toilets open all year around.

·         99% oppose any plans to close the toilets on the High Street.

·         96% believe that any money raised from the sale of any toilets should be ring-fenced for the provision of better toilet facilities in the town.

 

I am sure that you will agree that these results are overwhelming and so I urge you to think again about your plans for toilets in the town.

 

Tomorrow morning your Cabinet will be meeting to discuss the issue of toilets across the District and the people of Sheringham are hoping that you will use this opportunity to reverse the Council’s current policy and to provide a clear and unequivocal commitment to reopening the permanent toilets on the East Promenade and to rule of the closure of the High Street toilets.

 

I hope that you and your colleagues will listen to local people and think again on this issue.

 

Yours

Trevor Ivory

Email to Cllr Hannah

Dear Brian

 

I thought you might be interested to read the results of my survey of local views on the future of Sheringham’s toilets.

 

The survey was delivered to every home in the town and the results have been overwhelming, with over 500 responses received.

 

Equally clear have been the findings:

·         76% think that the temporary toilets on the East Promenade are unsightly and 64% say they are difficult to access.

·         93% want to see the permanent toilets on the East Promenade renovated and reopened.

·         97% want to have all the toilets open all year around.

·         99% oppose any plans to close the toilets on the High Street.

·         96% believe that any money raised from the sale of any toilets should be ring-fenced for the provision of better toilet facilities in the town.

 

I am sure that you will agree that these results are overwhelming and so I urge you to think again about your plans for toilets in the town.

 

Tomorrow morning you and your colleagues in the Cabinet will be meeting to discuss the issue of toilets across the District and the people of Sheringham are hoping that you will use this opportunity to reverse the Council’s current policy and to provide a clear and unequivocal commitment to reopening the permanent toilets on the East Promenade and to rule of the closure of the High Street toilets.

 

I hope that you and your colleagues will listen to local people and think again on this issue.

 

Yours

Trevor Ivory

a useful meeting nonetheless

Although we were not allowed to get into the East Prom toilets today, we had a useful meeting on where the campaign is going next. The Mayor of Sheringham and representatives of SEG, the Chamber of Commerce, the WI and Age Concern all joined me and other concerned people to discuss the next steps.  

What was clear to all of us was that there is considerable confusion about where the District Council stands on the future of the toilets.  So far as any of us are aware, the last time the Council considered all of Sheringham’s toilets they decided to close the East Prom toilets immediately (replacing them with the temporary block) and also to close the High Street toilets, subject to finding a suitable alternative use for the building that they are in.  A number of people have contacted me with concerns about the fact that local District Councillors are saying that the High Street toilets are not going to be closed, but no-one present at the meeting today was aware of any council meeting having made such a decision.

If the High Street toilets are now safe then this is great news, but we have not yet been able to establish that such a decision has actually been taken.  At a seperate meeting today Brian Hannah did indicate that Sheringham’s toilets would be considered at a Council Cabinet meeting on Monday, although for some reason he refused to be drawn on what exactly was to be discussed. 

We all, therefore, await Monday with baited breath and hope that the Cabinet will listen to what local people have been saying and will comit to safeguarding the future of both the High Street toilets and the permenant block on the East Prom.

local press coverage

The campaign has had yet more publicity, this time in ‘@ Sheringham’.  Thanks to the paper for helping to spread the word.

Check out the coverage here or visit the paper through the new link on the right of the page.

cancelled

I now understand from SEG that the meeting to open the toilets on 3 September has been cancelled, possibly at the request of one of Sheringham’s councillors apparently.

The cancelling of the meeting is very disappointing as it suggests that the District Council is not ready to listen to the concerns of local people.  It is even more disappointing, however, if the cancellation has been at the request of someone who is meant to be representing local people. 

I shall be meeting with SEG anyway on 3 September to discuss the campaign and I shall also be presenting the outcome of the survey to them then (I’ll also keep readers informed as soon as the analysis is complete). I shall also be visiting YESU to discuss their plans to safeguard the future of the High Street toilets.

cancelled?

I am hearing rumours that the District Council has suddenly cancelled the meeting on 3 September. If this is the case, it is extremely disappointing.

More details as soon as I have them.

survey update

The surveys are still being delivered to the last few streets in the town but after just a couple of weeks, the response is already overwhelming and I thought that you might be interested to see the results so far:

• Three quarters of respondents think that the temporary toilets on the East Prom are unsightly and difficult to access.
• 95% of respondents want to see the permanent East Prom toilets renovated and re-opened.
• 95% of respondents also want to see Sheringham’s toilets kept open in the winter.
• A whopping 98% of respondents disagree with the District Council’s view that the High Street toilets should be closed.
• 96% of respondents believe that, if the toilets are closed and sold, the money that the District Council makes from the sale should be ring-fenced for the provision of toilets in Sheringham.

These are not the final results as surveys are still coming back at a rapid rate, but it is pretty clear that the District Council is completely out of touch with local feeling on this issue. Let’s hope that they have the courage to admit that they were wrong.

what is the cost?

The survey responses continue to flood in and there are definitely some themes developing, none of which will particularly please those in charge at NNDC.

Meanwhile, SEG have been wondering about the true cost of the temporary toilets on the East Promenade. These temporary toilets are put up at the beginning of the summer season each year and are then packed away and stored during the winter (because apparently we do not need to go to the loo in the winter!). We are told that it would cost too much to open the original toilets again and to provide proper disabled facilities, but exactly how much is being spent year on year on the temporary toilets?

At the same time, it is time that NNDC came clean over the future of the toilets in Sheringham. In their report back in 2005, they proposed closing both the East Promenade and the High Street toilets, but one local councillor apparently got a little hot under the collar when a local person asked recently whether the Council planned to close the High Street ones.

In order to get answers to these questions, I have made a request under the Freedom of Information Act of NNDC asking about the cost of the temporary loos and also about the discussions that have taken place in connection with both the East Prom and High Street toilets.

They have a little while left to respond, but check back to see what the answers are.

survey response “overwhelming”

Pity poor Helen who works in my office – she is having to climb over a mountain of letters to get in every morning because the number of responses to the survey is so great. My inbox is also starting to look pretty clogged up!

The first few surveys were delivered last week and there are still more to get out, but already the response is huge and the responses are all similar - we want our toilets! This shows the strength of feeling on the issue and by returning so many surveys you are helping to put maximum pressure on NNDC – thank you!

campaign hits the airwaves

North Norfolk Radio are today reporting on the campaign following an interview that I did with them yesterday.  A big thank you to NNR for giving us the airtime to spread the word.

Check out the story on their website.

“some work required, but nothing major”

That was the conclusion of Diane when she, Avril and others from the SEG got a sneak preview inside the East Prom toilets last week. 

The meeting was a precursor to a formal inspection of the toilets on 3 September, which SEG and I are going to, along with Town and District Councillors. My big concern is that every year the District Council pays to have the temporary toilets put on the East Prom in the spring and then takes them away and stores them during the winter. Not only does this assume that no-one needs to toilet in the winter, but it also seems to me to be an unnecessary expense and one of my questions for NNDC on 3 September will be how much would it cost to bring the toilets back into use and install a disabled toilet at the bottom of the steps – maybe in the old ice-cream parlour.

I shall keep you updated.