Public Conveniences – Are they Fit for Purpose?

Being born and bred in Shrewsbury I know and speak to many local residents every day, and one of the most regular topics to come up is the state of Shrewsbury’s public conveniences. A good range of well presented and maintained public toilets is a key part of any enjoyable visit to our town centre. Sadly the position is not all it should be.

Regularly I am told the standard of equipment and presentation is below what our residents and visitors have a right to expect.  The image of Shrewsbury they portray to visitors is one of not caring  whether they have a comfortable and  relaxed visit at all.  It is vital for the economic health of Shrewsbury that we make the most of the opportunities and income well planned tourism offers.
The current provision of public toilets in Shrewsbury is just not doing that.

What a massive shame it is that our Tory led Borough and County Councils instead chose to waste some £750,000 on the Darwin “celebrations” and the hugely costly Quantum Leap slinky sculpture.

Investing wisely in our basic facilities in my view would have been the sensible course, and would be far more likely to bring the repeat visits the Darwin fiasco has so conspicuously failed to produce.

Darwin sculpture on Smithfield road

I am getting a lot of people asking me why I allowed the Shrewsbury Borough council to spend over 400,000 pounds on a sculpture on Smithfield road the answer is I did not nor did any other Cllr’s other than Judith Williams and Cllr Charles Armstrong

You see Cllr Armstrong came to council and asked the council for 750,000 for the Darwin celebrations as this was his birth place.  All labour and Lib dems voted against this motion.

But as always all the torys voted like sheep and passed the motion. Then some time later on in the year dont know the date Judith Williams asked we could have a sculpture to celebrate Charles Darwin and if a art foundation chaired by Graham Gallier (the HQ is at Galliers Yard in Longden Road) could pick the art and where it was going to be placed

No Cllrs other than Judith had anything to do with picking the art peice nor where it is going to be placed I hear that they wanted it in the quarry but the Horticultural society would not allow it so they found this little peice of land on Smithfield road which is far to small for this.