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Brian - if anything has to be closed it is the direct result of the almighty mess that the present Labour Government has made of public finances.
We see already only the initial impact of Labour cuts, yet they speak on about spending more money while chopping expenditure behind the scenes. Anyone who is a school governor or works in a decision making position in public services can see the way budgets are being cut, but this Government is not man enough to admit it.
The simple fact is this is only the start, whatever the result of the election. And yes, there will be many more very difficult spending decisions to be made by Councils and Government. This is just a taster.
It has hit Councils first because people do not understand the complexities of local government finance. By chopping back on central government funding, combined with council tax capping, the Government conveniently gets councils to do the dirty work while the local authorities get the blame.
The truth is the Council is caught between a rock and a hard place. They must cut back on spending, just increasing the Council tax is not an option. A cut of 1% in Government grant means a 3.5% increase in Council tax. Add in the extra duties imposed and not funded by Government, salary increases and cost rises that 3.5% Council tax increase, under these circumstances, could turn very quickly into 14% or more Council Tax rise and that would not be allowed under the capping regime.
The only choice is to cut, but cut what? Much of what District Councils do is statutory and has to be done. OK they could reduce the standard of street sweeping, close sports centres, close parks, increase car parking charges perhaps. Whatever they do will result in an uproar.
I do not like the closure of the loos any more than Andy or any of you, but there was an option available. Town Councils and Parish Councils are not capped and could take on this cost and keep these facilities open. As has been said others have done so. It is DTC's choice to follow on or not. I understand why they might choose not to play ball in this, they too have difficult decions to make in this climate and it is up to them to decide their priorities. I know how difficult it is to make such decisions, after all this is just the start, what demands will come next, from whatever source? But without the money and/or the means to raise the money such difficult decisions have to be made.
This is only the start and a taste of what is to come regardless of who wins the election.
The government's finances have been driven into the ground because of 10 or so years of profligate and wasteful spending and now we are having to pay for it.