City to shut 10 public toilets

Councillors have voted to close 10 of Derby's public toilets because there is not enough money to keep them open.

Councillor Joe Naitta said it was too expensive to maintain and renovate the toilets earmarked for closure.

They will be shut by January except for those at the Assembly Rooms and the Eagle Centre Market, which will remain until the new bus station opens.

The council will still be responsible for 15 public conveniences in the city, officials said.

Cllr Naitta said the toilets at The Spot and in Victoria Street would not close until January to allow the authority extra time to tell people where alternatives were situated.

The toilets that will shut down are at Markeaton island; High Street, Chellaston; Spondon library; Nunsfield Housing grounds in Boulton Lane, Alvaston; Nottingham Road cemetery and Spondon cemetery.

The Liberal Democrat-led council said it would cost tens of thousands to bring the toilets up to modern standard and the run-down conveniences were a haven for crime and drug use.