Public toilets in Nottingham city centre are set to close next week for five days for repairs. The toilets are located in Greyhound Street - the closest to Old Market Square - where thousands of visitors are flocking to Winter Wonderland after its launch this week.
Operated by Nottingham City Council, a spokesman said it wasn't ideal but added it was important to get the toilets in full working order before the busiest time of the market. Five of the 13 cubicles in the ladies are currently out of order and traps in the gents have been vandalised at the toilets, which back in 2006 were crowned a winner in the national Loo of the Year Awards.
The toilets will close on Monday, November 21. They will reopen on Saturday, November 26, with normal hours from 6am to 9pm.
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A Nottingham City Council spokesman: "Unfortunately there’s a combination of issues at the Greyhound Street toilets, from vandalism to drainage problems, that have put some of the facilities out of action.
"We are looking at ways to sort out quick fixes to enable some of the cubicles to become available again in the coming days, but in order to properly fix all the issues, we are planning to close the toilets from Monday to Friday next week. While clearly not ideal, it is preferable to get the whole facility fully operational before the busiest part of the Christmas period.”
Members of the public using the toilets this week said they had 'gone down the pan'. One woman, who didn't want to be named, said: "While the toilets are fairly clean there seems to be an issue with maintenance. I tried to wash my soapy hands but the taps didn't seem to be working. The hand dryers are temperamental too. I remember when there used to be flowers in here. These toilets have really gone down the pan."
Geoff Eaton said: "The Winter Wonderland is great but why is the Nottingham City Council not spending as much effort on the infrastructure that supports it? For example if visitors want to use the main public toilets in the area - those on Greyhound Street - they will find (in the men's at least) all the traps vandalised and no working taps (so no hand washing available). What image does this give visitors to the city?"
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